Brand New Glee Club
by shadowwriter007
Summary: When Kaiko Shion transfers to her brother Kaito's high school, she finds that the Glee Club, the one club she's interested in, is run by the conceited Meito Sakine. With her self reliant punk attitude and his egotistical outlook, they dangerously clash. With the help of Kaito, Meiko Sakine, and more new friends, Kaiko's high school years become more interesting than she expected
1. Chapter 1

Glee Club: Love and War

(Title pending. Seriously. Like, for real.)

Prologue

"I can't wait to start at your school, Kaito!" Kaiko exclaims excitedly. Kaito smiles at his little sister's enthusiasm.

"I'm glad you're excited, but it's just school. It's nothing too special."

"But it'll be a lot more fun than being in an all-girls' school," she says, crossing her arms. "So what's it like? Is it big? Are the teachers strict? Are there cliques? What are the clubs?"

"You don't need to bombard me with questions," Kaito says with a chuckle, ruffling her hair. "Just check the website. It should answer most of your questions."

Kaiko smiles and pulls up her laptop. She clicks around for a while on the school's website, skimming over different categories of classes, extracurricular things, and clubs.

"It really is just a normal, boring school after all…" she sighs in exaggerated disappointment. Kaito gives her a crooked smile, and she grins brightly back at him.

Turning back to her laptop, she continues investigating her new school. When her eyes skim over one club in particular, her entire face lights up with excitement.

"There's a glee club!" she says, turning toward her brother. "Why haven't you ever talked about it? You love singing! Aren't you a part of it?" Kaito's face falls slightly at her mention of the club. "What's wrong, Kaito? You are in it right? You can hook me up and get me in too, right?"

"Uh, well…" He scratches the back of his head awkwardly. "I'm not part of the glee club. I don't know much about it."

"Why aren't you in it?"

Kaito sighs.

"Well, the student who runs it is a little…picky about the people he'll accept into the club. Not just anyone is allowed to join."

"What?!" Kaiko shouts.

"Kaiko, calm down, Mom and Dad are trying to sleep," Kaito says, trying to soothe her. His efforts, however, are futile. Kaiko glares and throws a pillow at him.

"No! I'm not going to calm down! Why wouldn't he let whoever wants to join the club join? Isn't that the point of a club? Doesn't a teacher supervise it when they pick new people?"

"It's his choice, sis. He started the club; he can run it how he wants."

"But-"

"Just let it go, Kaiko. Come on, go to bed. You need to get up earlier than usual now, so you need sleep."

Kaiko angrily climbs into her bed and Kaito goes to leave. Before he switches off the lights, he turns back toward Kaiko.

"Hey, Kaiko?"

"What's up, bro?"

"Stay away from the glee club president, okay?"

"What do you mean?"

"Just…don't try to start something that could get out hand."

Before Kaiko could comment, he turns out the lights and walks out of the room. She huffs and curls up with her giant stuffed lamb.

"Like I would do anything like that…" she mumbles before drifting off to sleep.


	2. Chapter 2

Okay, so this is my first fanfiction and I'm not the best writer in the world so if anyone has any comments, advice, or constructive criticism I would be really happy to take it. I hope you enjoy this story!

Chapter 1

The next morning, Kaito gives Kaiko a tour of the school and the grounds before classes begin.

"Those are the locker rooms, the gym entrance is that big door a little farther down, and across the hall are the fourth though eighth science labs."

"Whoa…This place is really huge…Way bigger than the website made it out to be…" Kaiko's jaw drops as she looks around the hallway, which is the third floor main hall. Kaito chuckles as his sister tries to peek through one of the science lab windows. She gives up when she realizes she isn't tall enough to see through clearly, and continues wandering.

"There are a couple more floors, but you'll only need to use the first three this year. I'll give you the rest of the tour after school, sound good?"

"Yep!"

"All right. Well, you need to get back down to the main floor auditorium for orientation."

"Okay!" Kaiko starts walking back toward the stairs, but stops. "Um…where's the auditorium again?" Kaito smiles at his sheepish looking sibling.

"Don't worry, I'll walk down with you."

Kaiko smiles and she and her brother begin descending the stairs to the main floor. When walking to the auditorium, Kaiko decides to bring up Glee Club again.

"So, what's the name of the glee club's president?"

"Meito Sakine. He's in my class, and I would really appreciate it if you didn't associate yourself with him."

"Why not? What's so bad about him?"

"Nothing, I just know you wouldn't get along with him and I don't want you making enemies so early in the year."

"I wouldn't-"

"Yeah, you would."

"You didn't even hear what I was going to-"

"I don't need to hear what you were going to say. Trust me, Kaiko. You would not get along with him. Now please, drop this subject. Okay?"

Kaiko pouts as she and Kaito continue on their way. Multiple students pass by, most of them greeting Kaito as they go. Even some teachers say hello to him and give him little notes to give to other teachers.

"Well, aren't you Mr. Popular," Kaiko says teasingly. Kaito smiles sheepishly.

"I've been told I'm easily likeable. That, and I'm on the student council. I'm not president or anything, I'm just member." Kaiko smiles and playfully punches her brother.

"Look at you, all important and stuff! I'm so proud of my idiot older brother!"

Kaito gives her a jokingly annoyed look and pushes her lightly. Then they hear a crash behind them. Turning around, they see a couple of kids trying to carry way too many boxes at once. The two guys look up and see them standing a few feet away.

"Hey, Kaito! Could you give us a hand?" one of them shouts over.

"Please?" the other says pathetically, trying to balance four large boxes in his arms.

"Oh, um-" Kaito looks over at Kaiko apologetically. She smiles and waves him away.

"Don't worry, I'll find my way to the auditorium. Go help them before they kill themselves."

Kaito smiles and runs over to the guys, taking a few boxes out of their hands. Kaiko turns around and continues walking, following other students to a large set of double doors. On her way, she glances around the large hall. There are sports awards, art projects, pictures, and other miscellaneous things that give the feeling of a generic school environment. However, the grand scale of the building was enough to completely erase that feeling.

The doors and handrails were made of a beautifully engraved mahogany and the windows of the hall were stained glass. Not all of the school was as fancy as the ground floor, but it wasn't exactly plain either.

'_Not even my old school was this nice, and it was more expensive than this one!'_ Kaiko thinks in awe. _'I can't believe the uniform dress code is so slack with all this rich-kid decor. Some kids aren't even wearing the uniform! Guess that means I can go a little more casual tomorrow.' _

Lost in her thoughts, she doesn't notice the boy walking towards her, talking to his friend. She was walking backwards slightly, trying to see a painting done by a student who may as well be a professional artist. Suddenly, she hits a solid object behind her.

"Oh, I'm sorry. I wasn't paying atten-" she stops in the middle of her apology to look up at the boy she hit.

He was a good foot and a half taller than her, with light brown hair and red-brown eyes. Just from bumping into him, she could also tell that he was pretty toned for his age. She caught herself gaping at him when he gave her a weird look, and quickly regained her composure.

"S-sorry," she stutters out, glancing at the ground. He scoffs, which makes her quickly look back up at him. He was looking down at her with a look of annoyance.

"Watch where you're going," he says disdainfully. Kaiko loses any thought of him being handsome she had previously, and immediately begins to loathe him.

"Hey, I said I was sorry. I was just trying to look around. You could've looked out yourself," she says, putting her hands on her hips. The boy raises an eyebrow.

"Yeah, I probably should've. But even if I did, I probably wouldn't have seen you. You're not very high off the ground." Kaiko glares up at him, her hatred for him growing.

"If you had any manners, or a brain at all, you wouldn't have said that," she growls angrily.

"Oh, I seem to have struck a nerve," the boy says with a venomous smirk. "You not like being called short?"

"No, I do not. I would appreciate an apology, if you would be so kind to give one."

"Hm. Too bad I'm not kind," he says with a shrug.

"Why you little fu-!"

"Kaiko!"

The two turn to see Kaito walking up to them. He looks confused and a little annoyed. Kaiko notices that even Kaito, the tallest person she's ever known, is still a little shorter than this jerk in front of her.

"What's going on?" He asks, glancing back and forth between the two. The boy straightens up. Kaiko didn't even notice he was bending over to talk to her.

Now she really hated this guy.

"Shion, who is this girl?" the boy asks in an exasperated tone.

"Oh, I'm sorry, am I _that_ much of an inconvenience to you?" Kaiko hisses at him. Kaito grabs her shoulder and pulls her back a bit.

"She's my younger sister. Now seriously, what happened?"

"I bumped into him, and he started bitching at me," Kaiko says, crossing her arms. "I don't know what his problem is, but I apologized and then he called me short and then things would've just gone farther downhill if you hadn't come out of nowhere."

Kaito looks back and forth between the two, a look of tired disbelief on his face.

"Really? _That's_ what this all is about? Can't you just apologize to each other and move on with your lives?" Kaito says with a sigh.

"I just want him to apologize to me for calling me short! Then I'd be fine! But apparently, he doesn't want to because he's a freakin' holier-than-thou primadonna."

"Okay, I think you guys are making a little thing into something it's not, so how about you just let it go?" Kaito suggests desperately. The boy, however, steps forward, ignoring Kaito's words.

"Whoa, hold up. I just pointed out the first trait I noticed about you. I don't think that gives you the right to call me a primadonna," the boy says angrily.

"Really? Because that was the first trait I noticed about you, primadonna boy," Kaiko says. The boy's face contorts in anger, which was only made worse by Kaiko's triumphant smirk. "Oh my, now _I _seem to have struck a nerve."

"Okay, listen up you little bi-"

"MEITO!"

The three teenagers jump at the loud, commanding voice. A girl about as old as Kaiko struts up to the group angrily, glaring at the boy. She has light brown hair, cropped short to about her jaw line and red-brown eyes.

'_Probably his sister,'_ Kaiko thinks, anger still bubbling inside her. The girl pauses in front of the boy.

"What are you doing, you idiot?!" the girl starts, beginning to berate her brother. "Why are you fighting with a new student?! She didn't do anything!"

"She's being a brat!" he retorts. "I think that's enough to-"

"No, it's not. You're being a brat too, if you haven't noticed!"

"But-"

"Just go sit with your friends in the auditorium!" she says, obviously not going to take any reply from him. He throws one more glare at Kaiko, the sulks off to the auditorium. The girl turns toward bluenette siblings. Her face changes from angry to kindly apologetic.

"I'm sorry for my dumbass of a brother. He's kind of full of himself. He's not really a bad person." She smiles kindly at the two. Kaiko notices her brother's face flush the lightest shade of pink at the girl's smile.

"It's no problem," he says back, his voice in a slightly higher register than normal. The girl laughs.

"So, you're the new student in class 2-B?" the girl says, turning toward Kaiko.

"Oh! Um, yeah. I'm Kaiko Shion. It's nice to meet you."

"Nice to meet you too! I'm Meiko Sakine, and I'm going to be in your homeroom!"

A bell goes off and lingering students start to file into the auditorium. Meiko turns away, and glances back over her shoulder.

"You guys better get to the auditorium soon, orientation is about to start!" With that, she runs off into the cluster of students. The two Shions follow along with the students into the large auditorium.

"So," Kaiko says, gaining her brothers attention. "That was Meito Sakine."

"Yeah," Kaito replies with a sigh.

"You were right, Kaito."

"What do you mean?" Kaito replies, raising an eyebrow quizzically. Kaiko glances over at her brother.

"I really do not like that guy."


	3. Chapter 3

I am going to be putting songs into this fanfic, and I'll be putting what songs and what version is used before the chapter starts. I won't use it all the time, and the songs are going to be important to the story, not just random. Listening to the songs along with the story might help a little with understanding, but you don't have to if you don't want to.

**Chapter 2**

The harsh ringing of an automated bell signals the beginning of the lunch hour. It also snaps Kaiko out of her half asleep daze. She tiredly lifts her head from it's resting place on her hand and glances around. Kids were leaving the classroom, but she didn't know who any of them were. Even if she did, she couldn't tell who they were from just their backs.

"Wait, what just happened?" Kaiko looks around frantically, trying to find someone she recognized. She starts to go into a mild panic attack, when she hears a semi-familiar laugh behind her, and turns to see who it was.

"Wow, I didn't realize you blanked out for the entire class. I would've flicked you or something," Meiko says with a friendly smirk. Kaiko breathes out a sigh of relief and smiles back up at Meiko.

"I'm kinda glad you didn't, actually. I would've done something embarrassingly loud." Meiko laughs again and Kaiko giggles along with her.

"Well," Meiko says, slamming her hands on her desk and jumping up. "It's time for lunch, and I'm starving. Come on, let's go."

She gets up and heads to the door, not bothering to see if Kaiko was following.

'_She's probably used to people doing what she says, seeing as how her brother reacts to her,'_ Kaiko thinks. She scowls at the thought of Meito Sakine, and gets up to follow her new friend.

"So, you're part of the Glee Club here, too?" Kaiko asks, glancing up from her lunch to look at the brunette. Meiko grins happily.

"Yep! Me and my brother were the ones who started it in the first place. We didn't know it'd get so popular; we just wanted to have fun," she replies brightly, throwing her empty water bottle into a nearby trashcan. Kaiko's eyes narrow a little.

"So if it's so popular, why don't you let just anyone join it?" she says, trying to act nonchalant but venom creeping into her voice. Meiko glances over, raising an eyebrow.

"I don't know, really. Meito's in charge of new members, not me. It's all his decision."

"Really…" Kaiko says darkly, crushing her milk carton in her fist.

"Wow, that is one dark aura you got there, Kaiko," Meiko says cautiously. They continue eating their lunch, having pleasant little conversations, when a boy walks over to their table.

"Meiko, your brother's looking for you," he says in a low, smooth voice. Kaiko glances up at him.

He's very tall, probably taller than even Meito. He had long purple hair tied back in a samurai-like ponytail, and piercing aquamarine eyes. To be honest, Kaiko felt a little scared of him. He had a mild threatening aura about him.

"Oh, hey Gakupo. I should probably go talk to the idiot then, shouldn't I?" Meiko sighs and stands up, then spins back toward Kaiko. "Oh, but I should introduce you both to each other first!"

"What?" Kaiko confusedly asks, being pulled up by Meiko, who then pushes her in front of the boy, Gakupo.

'_Why does he seem taller when I'm standing up?_' Kaiko thinks nervously, giving an awkward smile to him.

"Kaiko, this is Gakupo Kamui. He's in the Glee Club too, and is Meito's best friend. We sometimes call him Gaku for short. Gaku, this is Kaiko Shion, Kaito Shion's little sister. She just transferred here today, and I'm showing her around. And now you guys have met!" Meiko puts her fists on her hips in triumph.

"Uh, nice to meet you, Gakupo…" Kaiko mutters awkwardly. She glances down at the ground, carefully studying the marble tile so she wouldn't have to meet that piercing gaze again.

"It's nice to meet you too, Kaiko." His deep yet polite voice piqued her interest. It didn't seem like his voice fit his person. She glances up to see, to her surprise, him smiling kindly at her.

"I hope you're finding everything okay around here. I know the school's a little bigger than most," Gakupo says kindly, his smile softening his once threatening features. "Admittedly, I got lost when I first transferred here."

"I probably would've gotten lost too, if it wasn't for Meiko. She's been helping me all day!" Kaiko says, earning a light laugh from Gakupo. She was starting to like this guy.

'_I thought since he's friends with Meito he'd be a self-absorbed jerkwad, but he doesn't seem too bad,_' she thinks, her smile turning from awkward to friendly. Meiko walks over and puts her arms around both their shoulders.

"Let me guess," she says, turning toward Kaiko, "You were scared of Gaku before and expected him to be a jerk 'cause he associates with my brother, and are now pleasantly surprised by his kind personality."

"Um, yeah," Kaiko replies, her mouth slightly agape before replying. "Spot on. How'd you know?" Gakupo chuckles a little awkwardly.

"That's everyone's first impression of me," he answers. "Being friends with Meito has kind of given me a bad rap because of his attitude towards everyone else."

"In reality, Gakupo's probably the sweetest guy you'll ever meet. I don't think he's ever hurt anything in his life, not even a bug," Meiko says, ruffling his hair playfully. Gakupo swats at her hand and gives her an embarrassed look, causing Kaiko to laugh. However, the trio's fun was cut short by a harsh voice.

"Meiko!"

The three cringe and turn to find an angry Meito stalking towards them.

"Gakupo, I told you to find her and get back to the table. How do you always get distracted?" Meito glares at Gakupo, who shrugs apologetically.

"Meito! Don't be such a jerk to Gakupo! He was just talking," Meiko scolds, crossing her arms over her chest. Meito turns towards her and raises an eyebrow.

"Maybe I wouldn't be a jerk if you had just come over in the first place," he hisses at her. Meiko's angry face falters to a guilty one, but quickly regains it's venom.

"Maybe I didn't really want to come right then, ever think about that?" she snaps at him. He sighs and flips his hair out of his face.

"Then I guess you don't really want your spot in the club, either. Same goes for you, Gakupo. There are other people who get sing the parts you guys do."

"Ah-! Hey, wait Meit-" Gakupo starts. Kaiko, however interrupts him.

"Hey, you really have no reason to act like that toward them!" Kaiko interjects, walking toward Meito. "It's lunch time, we're allowed to be able to talk to people if we want to. That's no reason to threaten their spots in your dumbass club."

Meito clicks his tongue disdainfully at Kaiko's remark.

"Great, now you're here, too," he mutters loudly. Kaiko huffs.

"I've always been here, thank you very much," she snaps, crossing her arms. Meito smirks and leans down to her eye level.

"Really? I guess I couldn't see you."

"Okay, really?! Why do you feel the need to make fun of my height?! It's obvious I don't like it so it's technically bullying, and it's incredibly juvenile! I don't see why you feel the need to act like such a bratty kid!" Kaiko fumes, losing what self control she had left. Meito sighs exasperatedly and straightens back up.

"What's really juvenile is your reaction. As for it being bullying, I don't think so. I've seen you twice in my life, and both times it's been you to pick a fight with me, so it's not my fault my reaction is to give a retort."

Kaiko opens her mouth for a comeback, but nothing comes out. Meito smirks triumphantly, obviously loving having the last word on the matter. The fact he was holding his head so high just made Kaiko feel smaller than she already did.

"Well, if you're done talking to me, which would make my day immensely better, I'll be taking my leave. Meiko? Gakupo? Come on."

He turns to leave, with Gakupo and Meiko following. Meiko, however, stops and heads back to Kaiko.

"What is it now, Meiko?" Meito groans. Meiko glares at him over his shoulder and continues to walk to Kaiko, who is once again looking at the ground.

"Hey, Kaiko?" she asks in a kind voice.

"What." Kaiko growls, not really as a question so much as a warning.

"How'd you like to join the Glee Club?"


	4. Chapter 4

I really recommend listening to the actual mashup while reading this chapter if you're able to. It would make it make a little more sense but it's your choice as the reader if you want to or not. And thank you to japaneserockergirl for your review!

I hope you like this chapter, and please review if you can!

**Chapter 3**

_Song: Hit Me With Your Best Shot/One Way or Another (Glee mashup)_

Kaiko's face snaps up to look at Meiko, who's grinning happily.

"Are you serious?!" Kaiko shouts, happiness brimming from her voice. She traps Meiko in a squeezing hug, bringing a laugh out from Meiko. When she finally lets go, squeals quietly and bounces slightly on the balls of her feet.

"Of course I'm serious! I feel you could add a valuable part to-"

Meito clears his throat. The two girls turn to see him walking towards them, the furious look in his eyes contradicting his otherwise blank face.

"I'm sorry, Kaiko was it? I'm afraid we can't let you into Glee Club," He says, his calm voice making his presence even more unnerving. Meiko, however, was not fazed by her brother.

"And why not, Meito?" she said in an annoyed tone. She crosses her arms over her chest, and waits impatiently for her brother's reply. Meito sighs quietly.

"We don't need her. It's as simple as that." The emotionless tone of his words did nothing to hide the venom in his voice. He glares down at Kaiko and turns to leave.

"What, so you're just gonna say 'no' and not even listen to me sing or try out? *tch* What a great club president you make."

Meito stops walking. Slowly, he turns back to see Kaiko Staring at him, a hand on her hip and a smirk on her face. He slowly stalks toward her, leaning in close to her face. She gulps nervously.

"So, you want a try out?" he says in a loud whisper, a dangerous smirk crossing his face.

"Y-yeah," Kaiko says, desperately trying to keep her voice steady and confident. Meito leans away from her.

"All right. Let's see what you got."

Kaiko blinks in confusion.

"uh, What exactly do you mean? You mean right _now?_" she says, flabbergasted. Meito only smirks in reply, then takes a deep breath.

'_What is he doing?_' Kaiko thinks. He glances at her, and grins evilly. Then, he begins to sing.

_Hit me with your best shot!_

_Why don't you hit me with your best shot?_

Kaiko blinks again, then smirks. "If that's the way you wanna play…" She walks up to him, and takes a deep breath.

_I'm gonna get ya', get ya', get ya', get ya'!_

Meito raises an eyebrow at her.

_Hit me with your best shot,_

_Fire away!_

He steps back and motions for Kaiko to step forward and "take the stage", if you will. Gladly, she does.

_One way, or another, I'm gonna find ya',_

_I'm gonna get ya', get ya', get ya', get ya'_

_One way, or another, I'm gonna win ya'_

_I'll get ya'! I'll get ya'!_

Kaiko smirks, but falters when she sees Meito smirk as well. He steps back toward her, his voice echoing through the cafeteria, where everyone was now watching the spontaneous performance.

_You're a real tough cookie with a long history_

_Of breakin' little hearts, like the one in me_

_That's OK, let's see how you do it_

_Put up your dukes, let's get down to it!_

_Hit me with your best shot!_

_Why don't you hit me with your best shot?_

_Hit me with your best shot!_

_Fire away!_

Kaiko scowls and pushes him away from her, taking more steps forward.

_I'm gonna get ya', get ya', get ya', get ya'!_

Meito smirks, and begins to walk back toward Kaiko.

_You come on with your come ons, you don't fight fair  
But that's OK, see if I care!  
Knock me down, it's all in vain  
I'll get right back on my feet again!_

_Hit me with your best shot!_

_Why don't you hit me with your best shot?_

_Hit me with your best shot! _

_Fire away!_

Kaiko growls slightly and starts to walk toward him as well.

_And if the lights are all out  
I'll follow your bus downtown  
See who's hangin' out..._

Meito_:_

_Hit me with your best shot!_

_Fire away!_

Kaiko:

_I'm gonna get ya', get ya', get ya', get ya'!_

Meito: Kaiko:

_Hit me with your best shot! Hit me with your best shot! _

_Why don't you hit me with your best shot? Hit me with your best shot!_

_Hit me with your best shot! Hit me with your best shot!_

_Fire away!_

Kaiko:

_One way or another, I'm gonna find ya'  
I'm gonna get ya', yeah! _

Meito:  
_Hit me with your best shot!_

Meito / Kaiko:  
_Fire away!_

Kaiko:  
_Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah  
I'm gonna get ya', get ya', get ya', get ya'!_

Meito / Kaiko:

_Hit me with your best shot!_

Kaiko and Meito both stop dead in their tracks, staring at each other face to face. Kaiko does her best to keep her jaw set and expression flat, but she can't deny she's eager to hear what Meito has to say.

'_I already know I did pretty awesome,'_ she thinks, her lips curving up at the whispers floating around the cafeteria about how well she did against Meito.

Still, Meito's face didn't change, no sign of expression at all on his part. It looked as if he's…_studying_ her. Gakupo and Meiko look at the two from a small distance away, amazed at the talent that just exploded from the young girl.

"Did you know she could sing like that when you invited her?" Gakupo whispers to the stunned Meiko.

"No…" she replies. "I was just trying to make her feel better but…holy crap…"

Kaiko still waits in front of Meito, refusing to break eye contact even though his gaze felt like it was penetrating into her very soul. Eventually, he opens his mouth to talk. Kaiko's eyes brighten.

"_I can't wait to hear him say that he was wrong and I deserve to be in that club,'_ she thinks cockily, a smirk beginning to form on her face. Meito sighs melodramatically.

"I was right," he says lightly and turns to walk away. Kaiko stood stunned.

"Wh-what?!" she screams after him. He glances over his shoulder at her.

"I was right. You don't deserve to be in my club. Is there something too complex in those sentences to comprehend?"

"Well, YEAH! I did great! I know I did! What did I possibly do wrong?!" She shouts furiously, tears threatening to sting her eyes. "Why can't I join the freakin' club?!"

Meito sighs and turns back around. Before Kaiko can react, he's right in front of her, leaning over her face. His hair falls and brushes her forehead lightly.

"Because you're too used to getting everything you want."

Kaiko's eyebrows knit together in confusion. Again, Meito speaks, in a quiet, yet foreboding, voice.

"You've been treated with whatever your spoiled heart desired since you were born. No one has ever said no to you and you've come to realize that fact. And yet, you can't accept it. You _need_ to have whatever you want, and you need it _right now_."

He emphasizes those words, lowering his voice even more to the point of a harsh whisper.

"I don't want someone like you in my club. Understand?"

Before Kaiko could respond, he straightens back up and stalks away. Glancing back over his shoulder, he shouts to Kaiko.

"Get used to disappointment, Kaiko. You're going to experience it a lot more in this place."

And with that, he turned and walked away, leaving a stunned, crying Kaiko alone in the middle of the crowded cafeteria.


	5. Chapter 5

**Chapter 4**

A quiet roll of thunder sounds, signaling that rain would soon follow. Kaiko trudges home under the gray sky, head down and alone. Meito's words still ring in her ears, as if he's right next to her, speaking them over and over.

"_You've been treated with whatever your spoiled heart desired since you were born."_

Rain began to sprinkle down onto the sidewalk, and steadily began to fall harder.

"_I don't want someone like you in my club"_

Kaiko stops walking. The rain was beating down on her head, mixing with the tears that are starting to fall from her eyes. She quickly wipes them away.

"I can't let a stupid comment like that get to me…"

She reaches in her bag and searches frantically for her umbrella. She was standing under a small ledge to block the rain, but it did a fairly poor job of it. She sighs angrily as she pushes papers, books, and other miscellaneous things around in her bag, finding no trace of her umbrella.

"Oh, come on. I know I packed the damn thing, so where the heck is it?" She pushes a few papers out of the way, then feels a sharp pain in her hand. Ripping her hand out of the bag, she looks at it to see a cut across her palm. She winces when she sees a small trail of blood begin to drip out, and tightly clenches her fist

'_Stupid broken phone case. I should've taken that out earlier.'_ She fumes angrily in her thoughts, wanting to either punch something or cry. She wasn't entirely sure yet.

"What a crappy first day…"

Kaiko walks into her house, soaking wet and out of breath from running through the rain.

"I'm home," she calls half-heartedly. She slips off her shoes and walks through her house, finding her mom in the kitchen.

"Hi, honey! How was your first day at school?" her mom asks cheerfully.

"Uh…It was good," Kaiko lies, doing her best to make her voice seem light. Her mom smiles, but her face falls when she takes a good look at Kaiko.

"Kaiko, you're soaking wet! Didn't you have your umbrella with you?"

"I guess not," Kaiko says with a shrug. "I'm fine, don't worry. I'm just going to go change."

"Do you want me to make you some tea?" her mom asks worriedly. "Something to warm you up?"

"No, it's fine. I'm only a little damp."

Kaiko heads to her room and shuts the door before her mom can reply. She changes into a baggy sweatshirt and leggings, and crawls onto her bed. She sighs.

"Am I really spoiled? I mean, I guess a spoiled kid wouldn't really know if they're being spoiled. But there's really no way of him knowing if I am if he doesn't even know me that well, so I shouldn't think too much of it. He was probably only trying to get on my nerves."

Kaiko turns her head to look at her desk. On it is her laptop, her iPod, a designer make-up bag with designer make-up inside, all things her parents bought for her as soon as they heard she wanted them.

Looking toward her closet, she sees every dress and top she's begged her mom for. Back when she was little, if her mom didn't agree to get her something she wanted, Kaiko would throw a tantrum in the middle of the store until her mom gave in. She sneers at the memory.

"I guess my parents do spoil me a little…It's not like I've gotten everything I've always wanted, though." She lies down and turns on her side.

"Kaiko?"

"What's up, mom?" Her mom walks into the room with a small, rectangular shipping box.

"Your dad heard you talking about how you broke your old phone case, so he bought you a new one online a few days ago. It just came, so I thought I'd give it to you." Her mom hands her the box with a soft smile, and leaves again. Kaiko smiles and sets it on her desk. Then, she flops back down onto her bed and sighs loudly.

"I can't wait 'till Kaito gets back from his student council meeting. He can help me forget that dumba…" She glances over at her mom, who is standing in the doorway with her eyebrow raised.

"…That stupid butt and his comments."

Her mom laughs a little and steps back in the room. She walks over and sits at the foot of Kaiko's bed.

"Kaiko, is there something you need to talk about? Is there a problem?" Kaiko shakes her head.

"No, it's nothing. Just a really annoying guy at school. He's a jerk to me."

"Do you want me to contact the school and tell them about him?" her mom says, her face turning to an expression of serious worry. Kaiko shakes her head again and hugs her pillow.

"Mom, it's only been a day. There's no point to call the school so soon. He's more annoying than anything," Kaiko reassures her mom.

"Are you sure? I don't want anyone hurting my baby," her mom says worriedly. Kaiko grins reassuringly.

"Trust me, it's no problem." Her mom stares at her for a moment, then sighs and stands up.

"Well, okay then. Tell me if you change your mind." With that, her mom leaves the room. Kaiko hugs her pillow tighter.

"He'd probably just get worse if I tell an adult about his juvenile shenanigans," she mutters, pouting.

A little while later, Kaito walks through the door.

"I'm home," he calls out tiredly.

"Kaito!"

Kaiko runs up to him and hugs him, almost knocking him off his feet. He laughs and pats her head.

"You're not nine anymore, you know. What's with the excited greeting?"

"I'm just saying hi to my favorite brother in the world," Kaiko says innocently, batting her eyes. Kaito stares at her blankly.

"You want something, don't you?" he asks in a jokingly accusing voice. Kaiko shifts her eyes back and forth.

"Nooo…Why would you think that?" she says with not very convincing innocence, turning away from him.

"What do you need, Kaiko?" he says with a chuckle. Kaiko spins around to face him.

"I just wanna talk. Stuff Meito said has been bothering me for a while and I don't like it." Kaiko walks to the living room and sprawls out the couch. Kaito follows, and sits in a chair a little off to the side of the couch. Kaiko giggles.

"It feels like I'm at a psychiatrist," she says with a grin. Kaito raises his eyebrow and smiles.

"If that's what you're thinking, I'll be expecting some payment when we're done."

Kaiko sticks her tongue out at him and leans her head against the arm rest of the couch. Kaito leans back and puts the footrest of his recliner up, and turns the TV on, keeping the volume low.

"So what's up?" he asks inquisitively. "What did Meito do, and, just to get the full story, what did you do to provoke him?" Kaiko glares at him, and puts her hands behind her head.

"Well, he reluctantly let me try out for his club, I was awesome, but he still didn't let me in. When I questioned him about it, he said it's because I was spoiled and he didn't want _'someone like me'_ in his club," she says grudgingly. "I didn't even do anything to make him mad this time, I don't think."

She stops talking and looks at Kaito. He sighs and leans back, closing his eyes.

"None of this would be happening if you listened to me in the first place and didn't talk with him," he mutters under his breath.

"What?"

"Nothing. I really don't know what to tell you, Kaiko. I'm not sure how you expect me to help." He gives her a sympathetic look and shrugs.

"Well…I don't know, could you tell someone he's being too discriminatory with his club? There has to be a rule about that somewhere. You're on the student council, right? They'll listen to you." Kaiko flips over on her stomach to look at Kaito. He sighs.

"Kaiko, I can't do that. I told you, he started that club himself. He has the right to decide who he wants to let into it."

"But he called me spoiled!" she huffs angrily. Kaito frowns.

"I'm sorry Kaiko, but that doesn't constitute getting him in trouble."

"But-"

"Kaiko!"

Kaiko freezes as Kaito raises his voice. He's glaring at her, his blue eyes darkening dangerously. For the first time ever, she sees him angry with his anger directed only at her.

"I am _not_ going to get anyone in trouble just because they did something you didn't like. The world doesn't bend to your every whim."

"W-well, I know that, but-"

"If you know that, why are you still pushing to get your way?" Exasperation leaks out with Kaito's words, and fatigue creeps onto his face. He takes a deep breath, calming himself down.

"…Why are you taking _his_ side?" Kaiko says quietly, tears stinging her eyes and hanging her head. Kaito tiredly gives her an apologetic smile.

"Because he's kind of right." Kaiko's head snaps back up to her brother, confusion and hurt written on her face.

"We've treated you like a princess ever since you were little," he explains. "We wanted you to be happy with your life, though I don't think mom and dad meant for you to get so…well, so spoiled. I think they mostly just wanted you to feel like they loved you, since when they were growing up their parents never really paid much attention to them. "

"Really?" Kaiko asks, now curious about this new information about her parents. Kaito raises his eyebrow.

"They never told about their childhoods?" Kaiko shakes her head.

"They never talk about themselves to me. They're always asking how I'm doing and stuff. Can you tell me about them? What was so bad about their parents?"

"Uh, well, with dad, both of his parents worked all the time and never paid much attention to him. He was alone most of the time and almost never got any gifts, or new things in general, whether he wanted them or needed them. Mom's parents straight up hated her and basically pretended she didn't exist. Her siblings were always fawned over all the time, but she was locked in her room. I don't really know the full stories."

"That's…" Kaiko sat shocked. "That's horrible! Who would do that to their own kids?!"

Kaito gives her a sad smile and stands up.

"It happens, Kaiko. The world isn't a nice place. You should ask mom and dad if you want to know more about them, to understand better." He gently ruffles her hair and leaves the room. Kaiko sits still for a minute, thinking over everything she just heard. She stares at the TV, not registering what was happening whatever sit-com was playing.

_'I really am a brat, thinking my life sucks just because someone told me the truth,'_ she thinks as she stands up. _'I really need to clean up my act.'_

She returns to her room and sits at her desk, swiveling around in her chair. Once again, she glances at all the luxuries her room has accumulated over the years. With a sigh, she reaches for her bag and dumps her homework on her desk and begins to scratch answers onto her algebra worksheet. After a minute, she hears a quiet, muffled melody through the wall. She smiles.

_'He always plays his piano when he's tired.'_ She puts down her pencil and moves her chair so it's parallel to the wall. Leaning her ear against the wall, she listens to her brother's song. She sighs quietly.

"I wonder how Kaito feels, always having to watch me get whatever I want," she wonders aloud.

Just then, her phone buzzes. Getting up, she walks over to her desk and looks to see who texted her.

-_heyyyy its Meiko ;) just in case u forgot, u gave me ur number at lunch. I swear im not a creeper_ _._._

Kaiko chuckles and replies to her friend.

-_yeah, I remember :) whats up?_

Barely ten seconds later, she gets a reply.

_-wanted to say my bro's an idiot & ur a freakin AMAZING singer. u could for real start ur own club with that talent gurl ;) ;)_

Kaiko pauses. A sly smiles begins to form on her face.

"Start my _own_ club, huh?" 


	6. Chapter 6

Thank you to everyone who has read this story so far, I really appreciate it. Please review if you're able too!

**Chapter 5**

The two Shions walk to school the next morning, Kaito yawning very frequently and Kaiko happily humming to herself.

"What's got you in such a good mood this morning, sis?" Kaito says with a tired, half-hearted smile. Kaiko grins back at him.

"Nothing, I just feel happy. It's gonna be a good day!" She continues her happy humming, and starts swinging her bag back and forth.

"Well, at least you have a happy outlook. You were so depressed yesterday," he says, yawning again. Kaiko looks up at him.

"I'm pretty emotionally resilient. Why are you so tired? Didn't you sleep at all?"

"Not really," Kaito admits. "I had to do some work for the council, and then had to finish a few papers and the rest of my homework. I didn't get to bed until around one or two in the morning." Kaiko whacks the back of his head.

"Idiot! You need sleep! Teenagers need just as much sleep as toddlers, meaning you can't stay up that late!" Kaito rubs the back of his head and glances at his sister ruefully.

"I feel like that's not really true, and you're just as bad…" he mutters. The siblings continue on their way to school, Kaiko relentlessly scolding her brother for his lack of care for his health.

"Kaito!"

The siblings look up at the sudden voice. A little father ahead, there are two guys waving and walking over to them, one with floppy blonde hair, the other with neat brown hair and glasses, and both very tall.

_'Then again, everyone seems tall to me,'_ Kaiko thinks bitterly.

"Is this your little sister?" the blonde one asks. He leans down to her eye level and grins mischievously. "She's cute!"

"Leon, if you repeat that comment or say anything like it, I'll throw you off the school building," Kaito growls. Leon backs up a step and smirks.

"No need to get mad, I was only stating what I thought."

"Well, I'm not really in the mood to deal with your thoughts right now. Anyway, Kaiko, these are a couple of my friends," Kaito says, nodding over to the two of them.

"Okay, um, hi I'm Kaiko," she says hesitantly, looking back and forth between the two boys.

"I'm Kiyoteru," the brown-haired one says with a smile. "I'm the student council president at our school."

"And as you probably heard, I'm Leon," the blonde one cut in. "I'm the treasurer of the council."

"Though I don't know what possessed us to trust you with the finances," Kaito says with a joking smirk. Leon smirks back and punches his arm.

"Ah, Kaito, did you finish the forms I gave to you yesterday?" Kiyoteru asked, turning toward Kaito.

"Oh, yeah, but one didn't seem quite right. It looked like some information was missing from it or something."

"Really?" Kiyoteru raises an eyebrow. "Let me see it."

Kaito shrugs his bag off his shoulder and searches through it.

"Kaiko, you can go on ahead. You don't have to wait for me," he says, looking toward his sister. Kaiko nods and turns to leave.

"Aww, she should stay! I wanna spend more time with her!" Leon whines. Kaito hits him in the back of the head with his bag.

"I wouldn't go on the school's roof for the next few days, Leon."

Kaiko laughs and waves at the trio, turning to leave. She continues on her way, lost in her thoughts.

_'I wonder what the odds are I would actually be able to start my own glee club…I'd need funding, and of course members. Funding should be pretty easy, what with me now knowing the council president and the treasurer. Members are going to be pretty hard though. I can't just let anybody in, but I don't want to be like Meito…'_

She enters the school gates, and heads to her homeroom. Turning a corner, she runs into another person, who was standing looking at a bulletin board.

_'Ugh, I swear, if this is Meito…'_

"I'm sorry, I wasn't looking where I was going," she says, looking at who she ran into. It's not Meito, but instead a girl with long, pink hair. She glances down at Kaiko for a second, then returns her attention to the board.

"It's fine." She makes no further comment and continues to skim her eyes across the board.

"So, uh, I'm Kaiko Shion. Who're you?" The girl looks back over at Kaiko, not in an annoyed way, but not in a particularly happy fashion, either.

"I'm Luka Megurine."

"What're you looking for on the board?"

"You ask a lot of questions, don't you?" Her voice was getting steadily more annoyed.

"Yeah, even though that was only two. So what are you doing?"

"I'm looking for a club."

"What kind of club?" Luka sighs and turns to face Kaiko.

"A club I would be interested in, now please, will you stop asking so many questions? I don't have the best patience or tolerance in the mornings, and I get real mad, real fast."

She sighs and turns back toward the board. Kaiko waits there with her, staring at her innocently. Luka grinds her teeth together for a split second, and turns back toward Kaiko.

"What?" she asks irritably. Kaiko grins broadly.

"How interested would you be in a glee club?"

Luka stares at Kaiko, who is grinning like a child at a carnival.

"…You can't be serious."

"I _am_ serious! How interested are you in joining a glee club?"

"I've tried to join the freaking glee club here three times, and every time I've been immediately rejected. What could possibly change this time around?" she says with a sigh. "That Meito guy has something against me, I guess."

"I wasn't talking about that jackass's club, I was talking about mine." Luka turns back toward her, this time with a look of curiosity.

"You have a glee club here?" she asks, hope just barely breaking through the emotionless barrier of her voice.

"Well, not yet exactly, but-"

"Never mind then." Kaiko stands stunned. Luka quickly and easily dismissed her presence as if she was nothing and returned focus to the board.

"Hey!" Luka shifts her gaze back to Kaiko. "Don't write it off just because I haven't completely planned it out yet! I'm going to make it happen."

"No you're not."

"Why not?!" Kaiko says, her voice rising. Luka sighs sadly, not turning her gaze from the board.

"Because there's no way you'll be able to compete with Meito. If-"

"Why wouldn't I be able to?!" Kaiko retaliates. Luka holds up her hand, signaling her to be quiet. Kaiko reluctantly concurs, frustration still written on her face.

"Just hear me out. If your club was already running, it'd be another story. But since you don't have it started, no members, no funding, there's no way you can get the club approved. I seriously doubt the school is willing to fund two glee clubs." Luka steps back and faces Kaiko. "If you don't want to give up on trying, that's fine by me and I wish you luck, but I'm just warning you that you can't do much to fight against Meito. He wins at everything he does. This is going to be no different."

She turns around and walks down the hall, leaving Kaiko by the bulletin board.

"See ya," Luka says with a half-hearted wave, not even turning around. Kaiko huffs angrily and keeps going toward her homeroom.

'_Like hell I'm letting that dumb reason stop me.'_ She slams open the homeroom door, making a few students turn their heads toward her, and flops into her seat. Propping her elbows up on the desk and setting her face in her hands, she grudgingly stares forward.

"You don't look too good, Kaiko. What's up?"

Kaiko angrily glances over to see Meiko sitting next to her. She huffs again and faces back forward.

"This just hasn't been my day," she mutters angrily. Meiko pats her back comfortingly.

"It's only 7:48, there's still plenty of time for it to get better."

"I doubt it…" Kaiko puts down her hands and lets her head fall on the table.

"So, what happened to make your day so horrible? Tell me everything. Mama Meiko is listening." Kaiko gives a curt laugh, then sighs.

"I'm trying to start a club, and I thought I found someone who was willing to join right away. I was really happy for a few minutes, thinking she could help me get more people so we could actually start, but then she said no and gave me stupid reasons why I'm going to fail in my endeavor and all that stuff. Then she just walked away, didn't even bother to give suggestions on how to do well. Just left. It wasn't a great mood booster."

"Well, that sucks. Who was it?" Meiko asks, raising an eyebrow. "Maybe I know her. Then I can yell at her when I see her."

"She said her name was Luka Megurine. Tall, pink hair, emotionless face. Do you know her?" Kaiko looks over at her glumly.

"Oh, Luka! Yeah, I know her. I mean, we've never really talked much, and she's known throughout the school as an ice queen, but she's tried out for the club a few times. She's a good singer, but Meito said he didn't really think she made the cut. She told you not to try and make a club?" Meiko made a face after her last sentence. "That was kind of jerkish of her."

"Yeah, I know. Hence the fact why I'm lying my head on my desk and groveling."

"Yeah, I get that now. Don't know what else to expect from an ice queen, though." Meiko says with a shug.

"What do you mean, 'ice queen'?" Kaiko inquires, raising an eyebrow.

"Well, she's amazingly beautiful and has the potential to be really effing popular, but instead she'd rather not associate with her peers and be really curt with people. I don't think anyone has ever seen her smile ever."

"Wow. She sounds real pleasant," Kaiko says sarcastically. She sighs dejectedly. "But she'd still be helpful as a club member."

"What kind of club are you starting, anyway? Maybe I can help out." Meiko smiles at Kaiko kindly.

"Uuuuhhhhhh…" Kaiko starts awkwardly. "Well, it's, um, another glee club…" she mutters into her hand. Meiko, however, hears her perfectly.

"Another glee club?" she asks in surprise. Kaiko looks away.

"I mean, you said I might be able to do it last night and I guess I just wanted to try and I thought I could get back at Meito this way and I don't know I guess I just…" she trails off into inaudible mumbles. She looks back up at Meiko, who is staring at her seriously. Then, she breaks into a confident smirk.

"So you're a rival of mine now?"

Kaiko gulps. Meiko gives a curt laugh and takes out a sheet of paper and begins to write down something.

"L-look, Meiko, I'm sorry! I'm not trying to make you hate me or anything, I just wanted to see if I could do something on my own for once." Meiko glances up at her, then keeps writing.

"You should be sorry, Kaiko. I can't believe I trusted you."

"You can trust me, Meiko! I'm not-"

Meiko puts her hand to her forehead and sighs melodramatically.

"I thought I could trust you to tell me if you ever needed help with anything. Alas, maybe it's you who doesn't trust me." She turns away and makes a choking noise, like she's dramatically crying.

"Wh-what?" Kaiko asks, confused. Meiko looks back at Kaiko with a smirk.

"Here."

She hands Kaiko the paper she was writing on. On it, there's a list of names and class numbers. Kaiko glances up at Meiko.

"What's this?"

"A list of people who were rejected from the glee club who had, in my opinion, good voices." Meiko laughs when Kaiko gives her an even more confused look. "What? I said I'd try to help you out with your club. You may be starting a rival club, but you're my friend and I wanna help you."

She grins broadly, and Kaiko smiles back. She jumps across the desk aisle to hug her friend. Meiko laughs and pats her back

"Try to beat my brother of that high horse of his, okay? It's made him a bit of an ass."

"Don't worry," Kaiko says with a smirk. "I will."


	7. Chapter 7

I'm probably not going to be able to put up as many chapters at once for a while, I just started at a new school and it's going to be hard to find time to write. I'm going to try to get at least 3 chapters a week, though. Please review if you can, and thank you to everyone who's reviewed so far!

**Chapter 6**

Kaiko briskly walks down the second floor hallway, an excited smile plastered to her face. In her hands is the list of names Meiko gave her earlier in the day. She looks over it as she's walking.

'_Luka is on here, but she's not going to join unless I get the club up and running first.'_ She sighs dejectedly. _'Even then, it's still a long short she'll join. I feel like she doesn't really like me.'_

She frowns, remembering her encounter with Luka that morning.

"_There's no way you'll be able to compete with Meito."_

"_You don't have it started, no members, no funding, there's no way you can get the club approved."_

She shakes her head to push the memory away.

"Okay, so ignoring Luka, the next person on the list is…" she mutters, looking closer at the paper. "…Miku Hatsune!"

She stops outside a classroom with the door slightly ajar. Peeking through the window, having to slightly be on her tiptoes to do so, she can see multiple students sitting around talking or studying.

'_It's break time, so she should be in her classroom,'_ she thinks, scanning over the crowd of teenagers. She huffs, annoyed, and lowers herself back down.

"Well, I might as well just walk in and ask for her," she mutters quietly. She takes a deep breath, and pushes open the door, hesitantly stepping in.

Multiple students look up as she enters. She glances around awkwardly, not knowing what to do or who to ask to get Miku. After a minute, a girl with long, teal hair tied back in pigtails walks up to her.

"Can I help you with something?" she asks in a cheerful, bubbly voice. Kaiko smiles, happy she didn't have to find someone herself.

"Um, yeah, I'm looking for Miku Hatsune? Is she in here?" The girl smiles brightly.

"That'd be me! What can I help you with?"

"Well, I was wondering if you'd like too-"

"Miku!"

The two turn to see another girl with blond, shoulder-length hair with a bow in it, waving over at them. Miku smiles and waves back, motioning for the girl to come over. She nods and starts to walk over, practically bouncing with every step. Miku turns back to Kaiko.

"Oh, I'm sorry!" she says apologetically. "That was really rude of me! Okay, so I never got your name!"

"Oh, I'm Kaiko Shion!"

"Nice to meet you, Kaiko! As you know, I'm Miku and this…" She grabs the blond girl's shoulders and pushes her forward. "Is Rin Kagamine!"

"Nice to meet ya!" Rin says with a wide grin and a wave. Kaiko smiles back.

'_Her name is on the list too, I think. Two birds with one stone, hopefully.'_

"So, what did you need?" Miku asks, tilting her head slightly. "I'm the class rep, so I need to do everything I can to help! I take my job very seriously, you know."

"No you don't," Rin says, whacking her lightly on the head. "You throw all the work onto me, and I'm not even on the class committee!"

"Rin! You're making me look bad!" Miku says with a pout.

"It's not all that hard. Anyway, Kaiko, sorry, we kind of get off topic really easily. So for real now, what's up?"

"Well, I was wondering if you guys wanted to be in a glee club," Kaiko starts, looking back and forth between the two of them. Rin shakes her head.

"Nah, I tried out already, and the president guy said he didn't think he could find a place for me. Of course, my _brother_ was let in, which is totally unfair."

"Yeah, same for me except without the brother part. Meito said my voice was too high for his tastes." Miku sighs sadly. "I really wanted to be in it, too…"

"Oh, no, not _that_ glee club," Kaiko says quickly. "I'm trying to start my own. You see, Meito rejected me, too, and I feel like he wasn't basing it off my talent and more off how he felt about me in general, and I didn't think it was fair."

"Wow, that is a bit of a jerkish move on his part," Rin says, making a face. "How are you going to start your own?"

"Well," Kaiko says uncertainly. "I was trying to get members first, and then going to try to get funding after. My brother's on the student council, so I thought getting funding might be a little easier."

"Oooh, inside connections! I like it!" Miku says, clapping her hands. "I'm in!"

Kaiko blinks in surprise.

"R-really?!" Miku nods and smiles excitedly.

"Yeah! It sounds fun, and I really want to be able to be in a glee club! What about you, Rin?"

"Hmm…Sounds fun! I'm all for it!" She grins at Kaiko, who's smile is growing bigger by the second. She squeals slightly and hugs both Rin and Miku.

"Thank you guys both so much! You have no idea how freakin' happy this makes me!" Miku and Rin laugh.

"No problem! Do you have any other ideas for people you want to ask to join? We can help out if you want," Rin says, adjusting her bow.

"Well, I have a list of some people I got from a friend," Kaiko replies, showing them the list. Miku takes it and looks over it.

"Oh, I know Gumi! She's in my science class! I can talk to her, if you want. I'm sure she'll go along with it!"

"That would be great! Even just spreading the word around would be helpful."

"Don't worry, I got that," Rin says confidently. "I can spread things around the entire school in a matter of hours. No problem."

"It still confuses me how you can do that so easily," Miku says, turning towards Rin. Rin smirks and flips her hair.

"It's all about knowing the right people."

"Well, if you know the right people, who would be the best to talk to if we want to spread the word about Kaiko's club?"

"That would probably be Sweet Ann, Bruno, probably any of the seniors in band, maybe a couple AP art students."

"Hmm, I think I might have a class with Ann, what about you?"

"Well, I…"

Kaiko smiles at the two girls, who continue to plan out how to spread the word around to people. She laughs quietly. Miku glances over at her.

"What's up? What's funny? I like funny stuff." Rin rolls her eyes

"You sound like you're blaming her for something, Miku."

"I do not!"

"It's nothing," Kaiko giggles out. "I'm just surprised how you guys just met me, but you're already willing to help me out. That hasn't happened a lot these past few days."

"Well, it's my goal to become friends with every person in this school by graduation, so I have no problem helping!" Miku says with a bubbly smile.

"I just want to get back at my brother for being able to be in a club I want to be in. And you seem really nice. That helps, too." Rin grins in a friendlily mischievous manner. Kaiko grins back, and turns to leave.

"Again, thank you guys so much!"

"No problem!" Rin says, waving.

"We'll meet up with you in the cafeteria right after school, okay? I'll bring Gumi!"

"All right! See ya then!"

With that, Kaiko turns to leave the classroom. She starts to walk down the hallway once again, her mood getting better with every step.

'_I can't believe I got two members in less than fifteen minutes! This is going to be a lot easier than I thought!'_

She turns down the staircase and begins to jog down them, trying to hurry to find another name on the list before break ends.

'_I'm going to be proving that bastard wrong about me in no time at all! And make friends in the process, which is always a plus. Miku and Rin seem so nice and optimistic! It'll be nice to have them there if I do end up convincing Luka to join. I like having happy people to talk to.'_

She goes to turn on the landing to the next set of stairs, when she literally _runs_ into someone else. She falls back on her butt and scrambles to pick up her papers.

"I am so, so sorry!" she says in a panic. "I wasn't thinking or looking where I was going or anything! Are you okay?!"

"Its fine," says a voice that sounds vaguely similar to another she's heard. "I'm more worried about you. You're the one that fell over."

A hand appears in front of her face and she takes it. Looking up at the person she ran into, she sees a scarily familiar face.

"…Rin?"

The person in front of her blinks in surprise, then laughs.

"Not quite," he says. "Her twin brother."

"Oh my gosh, I'm sorry! Jeez, I'm just effing everything up," she said frantically.

He grins at her kindly.

"Don't worry, me and Rin get mixed up a lot. Especially by people who've just met us. We are identical twins, after all. It's even harder if she's not wearing her bow, or if you catch me with my hair down." He gestures to a small ponytail on the back of his head. "Anyway, I'm Len." He puts out his hand, and Kaiko shakes it.

"I'm Kaiko. Nice to meet you!" Len gives her a crooked grin.

"It's nice to meet you too, Kaiko!"

"So," Kaiko says, standing up. "You're in Glee Club, right?"

"That's correct. I've been in it for, I don't know, maybe a little more than a year? It's pretty fun."

"Yeah. Fun." Kaiko scoffs. Her eyes narrow as the image of a smirking Meito comes to her mind. Len clears his throat.

"Uh, are you all right? You look like you're about to kill someone." He makes a confused face at Kaiko, who was snapped out of her daze.

"Oh, sorry I just, um, haven't had the best run-ins the president of that club."

"Yeah, Meito's a little bit of a jackass at times, but he's really not that bad of a guy. I mean, as long as you stay on his good side."

"Yeah, well, I'm not even close to getting on his good side. He kinda hates me, and I return the feeling. He wouldn't even let me into that stupid club, even though I did pretty well for my try out."

"Oh, you had the spontaneous lunch try out, right?" Len asks, his face lighting up. "I wish I could've seen that, it sounded awesome." Kaiko laughs sheepishly.

"It wasn't that great, just singing. You do it every day."

"But not right on the spot. We plan out what we're going to sing and practice it weeks in advance, but Gaku said you did it right then, no problem! It's hard to pick a song right away to mash with a completely different one, but you did it so easily! I'm a little jealous. I could never be able to do that so quickly."

"I find it hard to believe someone in the prestigious Glee Club can be jealous of me. Even if I am so amazing," she added jokingly. Len laughs and smiles at her. He glances at his watch

"Oh, crap. Uh, sorry for the rush, but I gotta go. If you're friends with Rin, I'll most likely see you again, so see ya then! Bye!"

He waves and continues up the stairs. Kaiko waves back and continues on her way, smiling to herself.

'_He was really nice! I mean, he is Rin's brother, so it was most likely he would be. But still! It seems like everyone in the Glee Club but Meito arer some of the nicest people in the world!' _She smiles happily to herself. _'I'm glad I'm finally meeting people who don't seem like they want me to disappear off the face of the earth.'_

She disappears down the stairs, Len watching her from the flight above.

"I don't know why Meito's so adamant about that girl not starting her own club. She _and _her idea seem harmless. I feel kinda bad for her, with how he's treating her." He sighs, irritated. "Jeez, if Meiko didn't tell him about this, he wouldn't be in such a whiney, childish mood right now."

He takes a piece of paper from his pocket and unfolds it. He glances over it, reading the names of people Meiko wrote down for Kaiko to search out for her club.

"Well, I took this from her, so at least he can't yell at me now."

He crumples the paper and continues walking up the stairs, throwing the paper in the first wastebasket he passes.


	8. Chapter 8

Sorry I haven't put much up lately; I've been busy and haven't had the time to write much. I have a little more time now, so I'll have one or two more chapters up this week. Please review if you can!

**Chapter 7**

"…And that new girl in your class is apparently starting her own glee club!"

Meiko smiles at her easily excitable friend as they walk down the hall, already knowing about the gossip she was sharing.

"Really?" she said, feigning surprise. "She didn't tell me about that."

"Yeah! She didn't tell, like, anyone but she invited Rin into it and then Rin told me about it! Isn't it cool she's starting her own club? I think it's cool! No one tries to start clubs on their second day. Especially if it'll be a rival club to your brother's! How's he taking this, anyway? Has the news reached him?" Meiko rolls her eyes.

"He's heard it, all right, and he's acting like a selfish brat about it," she replies with a sneer. "He pretty much said he's going to do everything he can to stop her club from forming. It's not even that big of a deal! So she's starting another glee club! So what? It'll be fun to have a friendly rival for once."

"There's no such thing as a 'friendly' rival for Meito," her friend grins. Meiko smirks back.

"You got that right. The dork can't make anything but enemies."

They laugh and stop outside a classroom.

"Well, see you later, Ann!" Meiko says with a small wave.

"See ya!" Ann waves back and walks into her classroom. Almost immediately, Meiko can hear her telling more people about Kaiko's new club. She giggles and continues walking to her own class.

'_Smart move, telling Ann about the club,' _she mentally praises. _'That girl will tell literally anyone anything. The whole school will know by the end of the day.'_

She turns a corner, heading down the stairs to the first floor.

'_Now if Meito would stop being such a dick to Kaiko,'_ she thinks bitterly._ 'maybe we can work out the two clubs together and co-lab on stuff._

She gets to the landing of the stairwell, and notices a few papers in the corner. Curious, she picks them up and looks over them. They're a few of Kaiko's quizzes that the class got back this morning.

'_She must've dropped them here when she was looking for people. That reminds me, I wonder how she's doing with her scouting? I'll ask her when I see her next.'_

She slips the papers into her folder, planning to give them back when she sees her. She continues down the stairs, and steps out into the hall at the bottom.

As soon as she steps out, she stops and blinks in surprise. In the middle of the hall is a kneeling Kaiko, rifling through papers, books, and folders, muttering to herself quietly.

"…Well, speak of the devil," Meiko mutters, confused.

She cautiously walks forward to the panicking girl. Kaiko doesn't notice when she approaches her. Meiko clears her throat.

"Uh…Hey, buddy…" she says tentatively. "How ya doing?"

Kaiko turns and gives her a quick, flustered look then turns back to her papers.

"Oh, hey Meiko. What's up?" By the tone of her voice, it was obvious she only registered Meiko enough to know it was Meiko. She most likely wasn't even meaning to get an answer from her. Meiko kneels down next to her.

"So, uh…Whatcha doing?" Kaiko turns back to her, looking mildly stressed.

"Um, well I, uh, I lost a few papers I kind of needed for stuff and um…" A look of realization comes over Meiko's face. She reaches in her bag and pulls out the papers she found on the stair landing.

"Are these it?" Kaiko's face relaxes to a look of relief.

"Yes! Thank you! Oh my g- Thank you so, so much! H-how- Where were they?!" Her words come out fast and jumbled as she takes the pages from Meiko's hand. Meiko smiles.

"They were on the landing in the stairwell back there. How'd you drop them in the first place? You're a lot of things, but you don't seem very uncoordinated, surprisingly."

"Well, I was running down the stairs and I ran into Len Kagamine-"

"Oh, that little bugger. Yeah, he never gets out of the way for people. I think he's a little rude."

"Actually, he was really nice to me and complimented me on how I tried out so spontaneously. I was really surpri-" She shuffles through the papers, frowning. "Wait a minute…"

"What's up?" Meiko asks in concern. Kaiko briefly glances up at her, confused.

"Well, I thought the list of people you gave me was in here, but it's not… Did you see anymore papers on the landing?"

"No, I don't think so… Are you sure it's not there?"

"I'm not seein' it. Do you think someone might've taken it?"

"I don't know who would want a list of seemingly random na-" Meiko's face comes to a look of realization, then darkens. "Len."

"What about him?" Kaiko asks, confused. Her eyes widen when she realizes what Meiko means. "He couldn't have taken it, he was so nice!" Meiko grunts in frustration.

"It was probably a freakin' ploy set up by Meito. Make the most seemingly innocent member of the club 'accidently' run into you, and have him pilfer the list away from you. Ugh, he's so juvenile, I want to KILL him!"

She punches the ground, a murderous look in her eyes. Kaiko looks confused.

"I know I just met the kid, but Len doesn't seem like the type to do that." Meiko glances at her.

"Tell me something, Kaiko," she says in an unnervingly calm voice. "When you ran into Len, did he have his hands out in front of him slightly, like he was about to block you?"

Kaiko thinks back. She remembers when she ran into him, she felt his hands press against her stomach for a brief moment, and then she fell over.

"I think so…what does that have to do with anything? It's a normal reflex." Meiko sighs.

"That kid is a lot stronger and more solid than he looks. He can push you over with barely moving his arms at all. That's probably what he did."

"But he never bent down to help me pick anything up!"

"Well, yeah. He's also really quick and really sneaky. He probably took it from the ground or your hand while you were talking to him. He has this aura where if you look at him, it's kinda hard to look away. I don't really get it."

"He seemed so nice though!" Kaiko argues. "Why would he do that?!"

"Because he's loyal to a fault. He really is a nice kid, don't get me wrong, but he'll do anything someone he respects tells him too. And he respects Meito quite a bit, so even if his conscience was telling him not to take the list from you, he was going to take it anyway."

Kaiko opens her mouth to retaliate, but closes it and looks at the ground. Meiko looks at her sympathetically and pats her shoulder. Kaiko sighs.

"How can people be that two-faced?" she says, melancholic. Meiko smiles sadly.

"People just are. People deceive other people to get what they want. It's how the world works, whether we like it or not. The world isn't a nice place all the time, Kaiko." Kaiko laughs humorlessly.

"Yeah, so I've been told." She sighs and stands up. Meiko follows.

"I can write another list if you want, it's no trouble. It wouldn't take too long, but I'm not sure if I can remember all the people anymore." Kaiko looks at Meiko and smiles.

"You know what? I'm okay. I want to try to start this club from complete scratch on my own."

"Are you sure? I mean, I don't doubt that you can do it, but it's a lot of work…"

"I know, but if I keep getting help from everyone, I'm not really accomplishing anything on my own. If I'm trying to compete with Meito, I need to start it on my own, like he did. That way I can prove I'm just as good as him." Meiko laughs.

"I admire your spirit, but Meito had help, too. You can't make a club completely on your own."

"Well, I at least want to find people on my own. Ya know, hold try outs and _be fair_ about them, unlike some people," Kaiko says bitterly. Meiko giggles.

"Well, okay. You already have a couple people interested, and a friend of mine is spreading it around the school, so people are going to know about it. My last bit of advice is going to be you have to advertise it yourself a bit, too. Don't leave it to rumors, 'cause no one knows if those are really true."

"Well, what should I do to advertise it?" Meiko smirks slightly.

"You'll have to figure that out yourself. It's your club, do something _you_ come up with, not something someone tells you to make. Then the club really will be yours."

Meiko turns and continues walking down the hall.

"See you later, and good luck!" she calls over her shoulder, waving goodbye to Kaiko. Kaiko smiles at her friend and waves back. When Meiko disappears around a corner, Kaiko finishes gathering her papers and starts to her next class. She sighs quietly.

"This club is going to be a lot more work than I thought," she says to herself. "Oh, well. I guess I have to advertisements to make tonight."

Later that night, Kaiko waits sprawled on her living room couch for her brother to come home.

"Ugh, why do his stupid meetings take so long?" she asks impatiently to no one. Just then, the door opens and she hears the comfortingly familiar sound of her brother.

"I'm home," he calls out tiredly, as usual. Kaiko jumps up and runs over to the door. She runs over and hugs her brother, just as she did last night.

"Hi!" she exclaims happily. Kaito laughs and gently pushes her off him.

"Hey, Kaiko. Where's mom and dad?"

"They went out to eat. It's their date night, and you were supposed to be home, like, an hour and a half ago."

"Oh, right," he says, remembering their parents telling him that morning to come home early. "Sorry about that. Anyway, Leon's going to be here for a bit."

"'Sup?" Leon says, peeking out from behind Kaito. Kaiko smiles at him and steps back so that they could both come into the house. Kaito drops his bag on the floor and both he and Leon go to the living room. Kaiko trails behind them and stops in the doorway.

"Kaiko, come on in! You don't have to stand out there alone. Sit next to me, it's not like I bite," Leon says with a mischievous grin. Kaito sighs agitatedly.

"You sound really effing creepy. Stop talking to my sister."

"Aww, I was only kidding around. But seriously, it's your house, Kaiko. You can sit in here if you want."

Kaiko giggles and walking in, sitting next to Kaito. Leon looks depressed since she doesn't sit next to him, but he gets over it quickly. He and Kaito take out documents from their council meeting and begin looking over them. Kaiko watches them, not really in interest but more from boredom. Kaito glances over at her.

"You need something?" Kaiko smiles at him.

"Well, I had a question, and since you're on the council, you can help me with it," she says brightly. Kaito raises an eyebrow and Leon looks up.

"What kind of question?" he asks suspiciously. She gives him an innocent look.

"Well, I want to start a club and I need fund-"

"NO."

"But-!"

"I don't care what your reason is, I said no, I mean no." Leon holds a finger in front of Kaito's face.

"Hold up, Kaito. Let's hear her out." He turns towards Kaiko. "You said you needed funding for a new club, right?"

"Yeah," Kaiko says in a pout. Leon smiles.

"Well, you're lucky I like you, then, since I'm the treasurer of the council. I can get you the funding." Kaiko's face lights up.

"Really?!" Leon grins.

"Sure!"

"Wait a minute! Leon, you can't make executive decisions!" Kaito gives him an agitated, slightly panicked look. Leon rolls his eyes.

"Its fine, Kaito. Kiyo would be fine with it. Besides, I _do_ get to make final decisions when it comes to funding. By the way, what kind of club are you starting anyway?" He turns back to Kaiko. She smiles sweetly at him.

"A glee club!" she says in a bubbly voice. Leon blinks in surprise, and Kaito leans his head in his hands.

"I knew it…" Kaito grumbles exasperatedly.

"Uh… Are you sure that's the type of club you want to start?" Leon asks uncertainly. Kaiko nods excitedly. Leon shrugs.

"Okay, I guess. I can get the info for you tomorrow by third period."

"Yayy! Thank you, Leon!"

She goes over to give him a hug.

"Wait!" Kaito interjects. Kaiko stops before she can hug Leon, making him look mildly annoyed. "First of all, Kaiko, don't hug that creeper."

"Oh, come on! I'm not that bad!" Leon defends himself, looking slightly offended.

"Second of all, let's call Kiyoteru to double check if this is okay."

"But Leon already said yes!" Kaiko pouts.

"I know what he said, but I don't want to listen to him."

"Oh, real nice. Glad I have such a trusting friend," Leon says sarcastically. He sighs and take out his phone. "Fine."

He dials a number and puts his phone on speaker. He sets it on the table and they wait for Kiyoteru to pick up.

"_Hello?"_

"Hey, Kiyoteru," Leon says. "Listen, you remember Kaito's little sister, right?"

"_The cute girl from this morning?"_ Kaito makes a face, and Leon holds back a laugh.

"Yeah, her. She wants to start a club and she needs funding for it. Kaito's being a little bitch and told me to call you to make sure it was ok if I gave it to her."

"_What kind of club?"_

"Another glee club."

"…_Uh, is she sure about that?"_

"She said she was."

"_Well, okay. Yeah, it's fine. You didn't have to call me for this, you know."_

"I know, Kaito made me. Anyway, thanks Kiyo."

"_No probl-"_

Leon hangs up before Kiyoteru finishes. He turns towards Kaiko.

"You're all set. I'll get the stuff to you tomorrow."

"Whoo!" Kaiko jumps up and runs out of the room. "Thanks, you guys!"

She runs into her room and shuts the door. The guys can hear her excitedly talking to her friends over the phone. Kaito angrily turns toward Leon.

"I just finished telling you how I didn't want Kaiko getting involved with glee, and you give her funding for a glee club. Why?"

"'Cause she's really freaking cute," Leon says bluntly. Kaito glares at him.

"I despise you."


	9. Chapter 9

Thank you to everyone who's given me reviews and advice on how to improve my writing, I really appreciate it! I'll try to get one more chapter up this week if I can. Please review and thank you for reading!

**Chapter 8**

_Song: Without You - Max Schneider cover_

Kaiko walks into the school at 7:00 in the morning, a half hour earlier than she usually arrives. She wanders around the halls, peeking in classrooms to see who else comes early in the mornings. She sees Rin and Len polishing desks and chairs, Luka straightening up the music room, and Kiyoteru talking with the principal. He sees Kaiko and waves politely, then turns back to his conversation.

When she finishes with her exploring, she drops off her stuff in her homeroom, greeting her teacher.

"Excuse me, Ma'am, but could I borrow a box of pushpins?" Her teacher smiles.

"Of course, Kaiko, here." She pushes a box across her desk. "Remember to return the box once you're done."

"Thank you!" She takes the box and walks back out into the hall, a stack of papers in her hands.

A little while later, in front of one of the large hallway bulletin boards, Kaiko struggles to hang a poster high on it.

"Oh, come on…" she mutters angrily. She jumps to try to and pin the top, but has no luck. She groans as it droops down, and to tries push it back up.

Just then, a hand ghosts over hers and flattens the top of the poster against the board.

"Need a hand?" a deep voice asks kindly. Kaiko turns to see who it is, and smile when she sees a smiling Gakupo.

"Thanks, Gaku!" Gakupo smiles and takes the pin from her hand. He finishes pinning up her poster and steps back to read it.

"Another glee club, huh? You're really doing it?" He glances at Kaiko, who nods excitedly. He smiles. "Well, you certainly have the talent to run your own."

Kaiko gives him a big grin and bends to pick up her remaining posters. When she straightens, she looks up at Gakupo hopefully.

"So, uh, think you could help me hang the rest of these?"

"Sure," Gakupo says kindly. Kaiko smiles up at him.

"Thanks! Being 4'10 is kind of really inconvenient when I need to do stuff like this." Gakupo laughs brightly and Kaiko smiles.

'_He has a really nice laugh,'_ she fleetingly thinks. The two walk down the hall, making small talk as they go.

"So, why are you here so early?" Kaiko asks, turning towards Gakupo.

"Huh? Oh, uh, well, you might think it's a little weird…" he says sheepishly, turning away to (unsuccessfully) hide a small blush. Kaiko giggles quietly.

"Try me," she says with a small smirk. Gakupo sighs quietly. He mutters something inaudible, and Kaiko punches him.

"Ow!"

"Talk louder, dummy!" Gakupo tries to give her an angry look, but doesn't do a very good job. He sighs again.

"I take care of a puppy in one of the back sheds..." he mutters slightly louder. Kaiko bursts out laughing, making Gakupo pout angrily.

"Are you serious?!" Kaiko says between laughs. Gakupo blushes very slightly.

"Stop laughing," he says, a slight whine creeping into his voice. Kaiko smiles and pats his shoulder.

"I'm not making fun of you, Gakupo. It's actually pretty adorable to imagine a giant like you playing with a puppy. But, I'm only going to ask, why?" She raises an eyebrow. Gakupo's face relaxes, then saddens a little.

"Well, I found it and its mother in the forest behind my apartment building. The mother had a collar, but it looked like she'd been mistreated and was really hurt. I originally started by taking care of both of them, but the mom got hit by a car a few months ago." Kaiko gasps quietly, and Gakupo continues. "My apartment doesn't allow pets, so I took the puppy here and keep him in the third back shed. Don't tell anyone, though. I don't know if I'm allowed to do this, but I'm pretty sure I'm not."

"Don't worry, I won't." She smiles kindly at him. "You really are just a nice guy."

"I try to be," he says with a small, and slightly sad smile. Kaiko raises an eyebrow at the barely visible melancholy on his face, but it disappears as quickly as it came.

After the two finish with hanging the posters, Gakupo waves goodbye and returns to his home room, leaving Kaiko alone. She wanders around until she finds a clock in the main hall.

'_7:20…There's still a half hour until I'm supposed to get back to homeroom. Maybe I'll go to the courtyard for a bit.'_

She heads out the back door, into the large courtyard. Although it's called a courtyard, it's closer to a garden or orchard. There are beds if lilies, irises, chrysanthemums, fruit trees with blossoms covering their foliage, and hundreds in many different colors.

'_They even have blue roses here! How did they get those?'_ Kaiko wonders silently, marveling at a large bush of pale, sky blue roses. She explores farther, until she finds a bench near small fountain. She sits on it, bringing her feet up onto it, spreading them out on the empty part of the bench. She stretches.

"Man, I'm tired," she says aloud, yawning. She glances lazily around, taking in the scenery of the garden. The soft colors of the flowers, the smell of the freshly-cut grass, and the pale blue-gray early morning sky creates a calming, comforting feeling around the garden. Kaiko's fatigue deepens.

'_Ugh, I stayed up too late making those posters. I wish I could take a nap here, but I'd probably sleep through the bell.'_

She sighs and leans back, staring at the sky. A little breeze blows, making the flowers sway, the water in the fountain to quiver, and the scent of the fruit blossoms carry over to her. Above her head, a few small petals float over a hedge and into the fountain. Curious, Kaiko stands up and tries to see where the petals came from. However, the hedge was too tall and too thick for her to see over or through. She climbs up and stands on the bench to see over. Just barely, she can see the top of a tall cherry tree not too far away. She hops off the bench and goes to walk around the hedge.

'_I didn't know there was a cherry tree here!' _she thinks excitedly _'I would've gone there first if I did! Ooh, I wonder if there are cherries on it already! I might pick some of the low ones if I can. I can put them on sundaes! Hmm, now I want ice cream…"_

She turns the corner of the hedge and gets a full view of the cherry tree. The petals twirl around in an intricate dance with the breeze, swirling around a figure standing beneath the tree. Kaiko creeps closer, hiding behind rose bushes as she moves, to see who it is.

When she gets close enough to see, her face scrunches up in annoyance.

'_Great. Why's HE here?'_

Meito stands beneath the cherry tree, staring off into space. Kaiko can see his mouth moving slightly, but cannot make out what he's saying. She smirks slightly.

'_What a weirdo, talking to himself.'_ She moves forward as much as she dares, so she can hear what he's saying. However, she's surprised to hear that he's not talking to himself. She sneaks a little closer, to confirm her suspicion. Her eyes widen slightly in surprise.

'_He's…singing?'_

Sure enough, Meito is beneath the tree, his face serious and his voice flowing like the breeze around him.

_I can't win, I can't reign_

_I will never win this game_

_Without you, without you…_

_I am lost, I am vain_

_I will never be the same_

_Without you, without you_

Kaiko stares in wonder at him, completely entranced. His face looks relaxed, but there are traces of pain lingering in his eyes and voice.

_I won't run, I won't fly_

_I will never make it by_

_Without you, without you  
_

_I can't rest, I can't fight_

_All I need is you and I,_

_Without you, without you_

_You, You, You,_

_\Without..._

_You, You, You,_

_Without...you_

"His voice really is amazing…" Kaiko mutters quietly. She goes back to when she first saw Meito, before she began to loathe him. Back when she thought that maybe she'd….

_Can't erase, so I'll take blame_

_But I can't accept that we're estranged_

_Without you, without you_

_I can't quit now, this can't be right_

_I can't take one more sleepless night_

_Without you, without you  
_

_I won't soar, I won't climb_

_If you're not here, I'm paralyzed_

_Without you, without you_

_I can't look, I'm so blind_

_I lost my heart, I lost my mind_

_Without you, without you_

_You, You, You,_

_Without..._

_You, You, You,_

_Without...you_

The wind ruffles Meito's hair, making it swirl around his face gently. Kaiko stands transfixed on the boy, not able to tear her gaze away.

_I am lost, I am vain,_

_I will never be the same…_

_Without you, without you_

"He really is just…"

_Without you…_

Meito finishes his song, letting the last note waver out with his breath. He sighs quietly, and begins to walk toward the gardens.

Right to where Kaiko was hiding.

Kaiko panics, not knowing what to do.

_'Damn, I can't let him see me!'_

She looks around frantically, until she crawls into a large rose bush. The thorns pulled at her clothes and hair, but she didn't mind. She just didn't want Meito to see her and know she was watching him. Meito comes closer to her hiding place, Kaiko's heart beat faster with every step he took.

_Please don't see me, please don't see me, please don't see me…'_

Meito passes by her bush, not even slowing his pace. She lets out a quiet sigh of relief, her heart slowing back to normal.

"That was way too close," she says quietly, a smile tugging on the corners of her lips.

Meito continues on to the school, but not before giving a sideways glance a specific rose bush on his way out. In the group of pale yellow roses, a small bit of blue stuck out from the middle. His eyes narrow dangerously, but he continues walking without looking back.

'_There's no point in giving her even a second of my time. She doesn't deserve it.'_

He continues into the school, his face resetting itself to a blank expression. Any bit of the pained expression Kaiko may or may not have seen was wiped away, and was never going to come back. At least, that's what Meito tells himself everyday at that tree.

However, it's impossible to erase the past from you memory, no matter how much you want it to fade.

The day passes normally, Kaiko greets her friends as the pass each other in the hall, avoids any run-ins with Meito so no one would be caught in any crossfire, and falls asleep in some of her classes when the teacher just can't make it interesting.

When the lunch bell finally rings out, Meiko walks up to Kaiko's desk, expecting to have to wake the blue-haired girl up as usual. But to her surprise, Kaiko is wide awake and starting to gather up her things.

"Hey Kaiko, are we gonna eat together today?" Meiko asks, leaning onto Kaiko's desk.

"Oh! Sorry, I can't today. I'm doing something." She smiles apologetically, and Meiko blinks in surprise.

"Wait, you're not skipping lunch?"

"Yep."

"How can you skip lunch?!" Meiko practically shouts, causing Kaiko to jump.

"Uh, well, I just…can?"

"Man, I could never skip lunch. I have to eat literally every two hours or I'd die from starvation. Or get very grumpy."

"But…you don't eat every two hours here. You can't"

"_Au contraire_, little Kaiko. I sneak food into study hall, the locker room, and in between classes. It works quite well." Meiko sighs wistfully. "I love food…"

She stares longingly toward the cafeteria, a dream-like expression on her face.

"Um…Meiko? Are you oka-"

"SO!" Kaiko jumps when Meiko suddenly spins back toward her. "What're you doing instead of eating?"

"Oh! Well, I made some posters and flyers to advertise my club last night, and I was going to pass them out to people as they're going into the cafeteria."

"Cool! Smart idea! I'd offer to help you out, but, uh…" Meiko's stomach makes a loud grumbling sound. Kaiko laughs and waves her friend away.

"Go on, go get food. I don't want you passing out or dying or killing someone or anything like that. I got this club thing under control." Meiko smiles and runs towards the door.

"Good luck!" she calls over her shoulder, then disappears out the door. Kaiko smiles and finishes gathering her books and binder. She takes her things back to her locker, then takes out a stack of colorfully decorated papers and heads towards the cafeteria. She takes a deep breath to relax herself, then takes her position at the western entrance of the cafeteria.

'_This is usually the most crowded door, so I should get a lot of people's attention. That is, if people can see me, with all the giants at this school.'_

She waits for a while for someone to walk in, but no one comes. She checks her watch, thinking maybe she was early. But when she sees she's not, she sighs at the empty hall. She goes to turn around and go to a different door, when she hears the loud thumping of a hoard of teenagers. She looks back up, and sees the said mass of hungry students. She straightens her back and tries to look confident and not as horrified as she felt. The first group to get close to her was a group of girls from the class above her. Kaiko gulps nervously, and walks towards them.

"Um…Excuse me?" Kaiko asks tentatively. The girls look over at her curiously.

'_Damn it, I was all set to do this, and then my nerves have to set in…'_ she thinks angrily. She sighs quietly and smiles politely at the girls.

"I was wondering if any of you were interested in a glee club? I'm starting one of my own and I'm looking for people who are interested in trying out."

Kaiko waited, expecting the girls to laugh or give her a disgusted look. Instead, however, they all smile and take a flyer with them. Kaiko breathes a sigh of relief when they go into the cafeteria, and prepares herself for the next group of people to come towards her.

After the first few shaky times Kaiko approaches people, she starts to get used to it and walks up more confidently, and talking in a bubbly, friendly voice. While not everyone takes a flyer, they say they'll pass on the word to their friends. She smiles to herself, happy with the progress she's making. One group of boys walk by, and she runs up to them.

"Hi! I'm trying to start a glee club here! I was wondering if any of you guys would be interested?" She smiles brightly at them, and they smile back.

"Yeah, sure! Why not?" One of the boys takes a flyer, a couple of his friends following. They wave and continue to the cafeteria. Kaiko can hear them talking as the walk away.

"Why did you take a flyer? You can't sing for crap."

"Yeah, I know, but hey, she was really cute! I wouldn't mind embarrassing myself if I was in a singing group with her."

"Are you serious? That's why?"

"What?!"

Kaiko giggles to herself after the boys get into the cafeteria.

'_Kaito would've killed them if he heard that,'_ she thinks with a mental laugh.

Just then, she sees Luka walking toward the cafeteria doors. Kaiko grins widely and runs up to her. Luka visibly cringes when she sees Kaiko, but can't get into the cafeteria fast enough. Kaiko grabs her arm.

"Luka!" Luka sighs exasperatedly.

"What do you want?" she mutters. Kaiko grins again, and holds out a flyer to her.

"I got my club some funding and a couple of members! Maybe you'll want to join now?" She waves the flyer in front of Luka's face.

Luka is glaring at Kaiko with a stare that could horrify the most horrible monster you could think of. However, she snatches the flyer out of Kaiko's hand and continues to the cafeteria without another word. Kaiko stares after her, then shrugs.

"Well, I count that as progress." She turns to walk back to her vantage point, but runs into an all too familiar torso. She mentally groans, and lifts her head to see a very ticked off Meito. He scoffs.

"Why are you always in the way?" he hisses out. Kaiko sneers at him.

"Ever think maybe _you're_ the one in the way, jackass?"

"I'm not the one selfishly trying to get others to help with a dumbass attempt at revenge." Kaiko's eyes widen slightly, and she.

"I genuinely want to start this club, no matter what first drove me to think it up! Not everything has to involve you!" she snarls at him. He looks down at her disdainfully.

"*tch* Funny, hearing that from you."

Kaiko sharply sucks in her breath, doing her best to keep her emotions under control. She steps past him and stands back at her post, not looking at him.

"I'm starting this club, whether you like it or not. I'm not going to let you get to me," she mumbles, not caring if he heard or not. She expects him to go away, but he simply stands there, staring at her. Kaiko tries her best to ignore him, continuing to pass out flyers to passers-by and smiling politely. When she gives a small wave to a group of excited, younger students, she notices Meito walking toward her.

He stops right in front of her, barely leaving a foot of space between them. Kaiko can feel her face heating up, and her heart beating faster, but doesn't change her stoic expression. Meito leans down, his face only inches from hers. Kaiko crumbles from his blank gaze that seems to bore into her. His hair falls gently over his eyes, but doesn't hide how dangerously they narrow. Kaiko swallows nervously.

"I don't care what you do," he whispers in a soft, yet incredibly harsh voice. "I just don't want you doing it for only _your own_ benefit."

"Wh-what-"

Meito straightens and turns away from her. Before he steps into the cafeteria, he reaches over and smacks the flyers of her hand. Kaiko jumps in surprise, wincing when his strike hits her hand. She goes down to pick them up, but before she can, Meito walks on top of them and spreads them further, not bothering to even glance at Kaiko. She glares after him, sighs, and begins to gather the papers.

'_He's so juvenile…'_ she thinks bitterly. She wipes her eyes, trying to stop the tears she can feel coming. She sighs. _'Not like I'm any better…'_

She sighs and goes to reach for the farther flyers, when a hand comes down and picks them up for her. She looks up to see a girl with long, blonde hair and a reserved face looking down at her. The girl kneels down next to her and begins to help her pick the remaining flyers.

"Thanks," Kaiko says with a small, not very bright smile. The girl glances at her and nods. "So, what's your name?"

"Lily," the girl says quietly. Despite her shy exterior, her voice is strong and a little threatening. Kaiko smiles at her.

"Thanks, Lily. I appreciate it." Lily nods again.

"No problem. That guy's a dick. I don't know why people flock around him." Kaiko chuckles.

"Yeah, I've wondered that myself." Lily picks up the last flyer and glances over it. She looks over at Kaiko with a slightly curious expression.

"You're starting a glee club?"

"Yeah," Kaiko says with a small nod. Lily looks at the flyer again, and the back at Kaiko.

"Would you mind if I took one of these with me?"

"Oh, not at all! If you're interested, I'd love to see you at try outs!" Lily's mouth curves into a small half smile.

"Cool." She folds the flyer and slides it into her pocket. She stands up and waves at Kaiko, turning to leave. "See you around."

Kaiko waves back and picks up the stack of flyers. Standing up, she walks back to her locker and puts the remaining flyers back in it. She shuts her locker and walks to the courtyard, back to the small alcove with the fountain. She sits on the bench, bringing her knees up to her chest.

"_I just don't want you doing it for only _your own_ benefit."_

She squeezes her eyes shut, simultaneously trying to figure out what Meito meant, and hold back the tears she loathed. She sighs, letting her head drop onto her knees. She hates not understanding what people say to her. She hates not being able to stop crying over trivial things. She hates not knowing the exact reason why she wanted to start the club so badly. She hates that Meito can give her a storm of emotions with a single glance. She hates how she always goes crying to her brother.

She hates feeling so helpless on her own.

"Why can't I just grow up like everyone else…?"


	10. Chapter 10

Sorry it's been a while since I last posted, I had some writer's block and it never really went away. I know this chapter is longer than what I normally post, but not all of the chapters will be this long unless you guys want them to be longer. I was just trying to keep this part of the story in one chapter to get it over with. Sorry if it's a little dry, but the next chapter will be better! Thank you for reading and please review if you can!

**Chapter 9**

After school, Rin and Miku scramble around the cafeteria, taking down the names of the students who came to try out for Kaiko's club. They scurry around, greeting everyone and trying to keep everyone patient. A surprisingly large group showed up, and more wandering in, causing the two girls to be a little overwhelmed, trying to get everything started without the bluenette girl.

"Where the frick is she?!" Rin whispers urgently to Miku when they find a minute of peace. Miku shrugs and looks around desperately, looking for any sign of Kaiko, but sees no trace of the girl. She sighs.

"I wish she told us she was going to be late," she whines quietly. "We could've planned out something to do with everyone." The two girls sigh sadly.

"We're never going to get this club off the ground…" Rin mumbles dejectedly.

"That's not the right attitude to have!" a cheery voice says from behind her. A grin spreads across Rin's face. She spins around to see a smiling Kaiko.

"Kaiko!" Miku runs over and hugs Kaiko excitedly. She lets go and starts bouncing enthusiastically, earning a strange look from surrounding students.

"It's about time you got here!" Rin says, more relieved than angry. Kaiko smiles apologetically.

"Sorry, I lost track of time."

"Well, never mind that! You're here now, and that's all that matters!" Miku smiles kindly, then roughly grabs Kaiko's arm and drags her to the crowd. "Now you need to talk to these people so Rin and I can get a break."

"Wait, what?!" Kaiko tries to pry her arm from Miku, but the teal-haired girl has an iron grip.

"Talk to them! You know, inspire them to live their lives to the fullest and get involved in their high school club or some dumb cliché thing like that." Rin gives her an encouraging grin, which is returned by a scowl from Kaiko.

"I'm not inspiring. I'm an angry munchkin."

"Well, then stand there and look like a cute angry munchkin while spouting nonsense from your mouth," Miku says, mildly impatiently. "I do it all the time. Trust me, it works."

"But I'm not you, I'm-"

"Perfectly capable of talking in front of your peers!"

"But-"

"Break a leg!" Miku shoves her in front of the crowd, who all turn to face Kaiko. She gulps quietly and throws a deadly glance over to Miku and Rin, who are grinning like idiots.

'_Damn it, you guys…'_ Miku gestures for Kaiko to start speaking. Kaiko takes a quiet, deep breath and gives the crowd her cutest smile.

"Thank you all so much for coming to try out for my club today!" she begins, making her voice light and bubbly. "I hope you all have fun, and even though not everyone will be able to get a spot, everyone is going to be judged fairly. No one is getting any special treatment and there's going to be no biased decisions, unlike a certain other club." Kaiko cringes as the last part of her sentence comes out.

'_Crap, that's not going to sound good,'_ she thinks worriedly. However, she hears a large portion of the crowd laugh at her comment. She relaxes and grins broadly.

"Anyway, I was able to reserve the auditorium for us for try outs, so let's head over there to get things started!"

The crowd begins to file out of the cafeteria. Kaiko breaths a small sigh of relief and follows behind everyone. Rin and Miku step out of the crowd to join her.

"Good speech. Nice and short, straight to the point, throws a jab at a jackass, I like it!" Rin grins and rests her elbow on Kaiko's shoulder, causing Kaiko to give her a look.

"Well, I don't like talking solo in front of really big crowds of strangers. I wanted to get it over with fast."

"Why?" Miku asks, cocking her hear to the side. "Strangers are just friends you haven't met yet!" Rin sighs loudly.

"Miku, its comments like that that make me think you're going to get abducted or stabbed or something," she says exasperatedly. Miku pouts.

"I'm not going to get stabbed or abducted!"

"That's debatable." Miku huffs and shoves Rin, and Kaiko laughs.

"Anyway," Miku says annoyed. "You're going to listen to all these people try out? 'Cause I'm in music with some of them and, uh…Well, let's just say the muses didn't really favor them all that much." Kaiko gives her a small, lopsided grin.

"Yeah, I'm listening to everyone. I want to keep it fair. And speaking of which, I need you two to try out. I know I already said you're in, but if it's going to be fair…"

"No problem!" Miku says, confidently putting her hands on her hips. Rin gives Kaiko a friendly grin. Kaiko smiles at her friends.

"Thanks, you guys!"

Everyone arrives at the auditorium a few minutes later. Even though this is where her orientation was held, Kaiko still can't get over just how beautiful the room is. It's high, gothic ceilings are similar to that of a roman cathedral, and the dark mahogany chairs with faux velvet cushions give it a rich, antique theater feel. The high stage in the front is lighted with bright stage light, the thick red curtain tied back with a gold rope, revealing an array of props and play production equipment.

While Kaiko marvels at the beauty of the place, someone sneaks up behind her and grabs her shoulders. Kaiko squeaks and jumps up.

"Guess who!" a friendlily mischievous voice says from behind her. Kaiko smiles.

"Hey, Meiko! What are you doing here?" She turns to look at her friend. Meiko grins brightly.

"I thought I'd come and listen to try outs! No judging, I just want to hear people. Is that okay?" Kaiko nods.

"Yeah! It's no problem!"

"Great! Oh, but, uh…" Meiko fidgets, glancing away from Kaiko. Kaiko raises her eyebrow.

"What's up?"

"Well, when I left to come here to find you, Meito caught me and um…."

"What?" Kaiko asks darkly. Meiko scratches the back of her head and points toward the side door. Kaiko follows Meiko's finger and her face becomes enraged.

Just now entering the door is Meito, Gakupo, and the rest of the other glee club. Kaiko spins back towards Meiko, who's expression is screaming 'please don't kill me I didn't have a choice.'

"Why?" Kaiko asks through a growl. Meiko shrugs in defeat.

"When I said I was going to look for you to see how your recruitment was going, he got all mad and curious and followed me here. Everyone else followed him 'cause we just finished our practice and they had nothing better to do with their pathetic lives."

Kaiko glowers at Meito, who returns her glare. She sighs and heads down the center aisle, doing her best to ignore the brunette boy. Meito walks over to his sister, who gives him an angry look.

"You're really coming off as a jerk lately," she says bitterly.

"Frankly, Meiko," he says with a bored sigh. "I don't give a damn."

"Why do you have to be so annoying?" she hisses angrily. He glances down at her and shrugs.

"I just want to see my competition," he says matter-of-factly, walking to a row of seats and sitting in the middle of it. Meiko scoffs angrily and stalks down the aisle to sit next to Kaiko.

"Him and his stupid Gone with the Wind quotes…" she mutters angrily to herself.

The rest of his club sits in the seats around Meito, lounging in the seats. Gakupo takes the seat next to Meito and glances at him.

"Why _are_ you acting like this?" he asks, raising his eyebrow at his friend. "You can just let it go. It's not that big a deal that she's staring another group." Meito gives him a lazy glance and turns away.

"Honestly Gakupo, I don't really know." He scans the crowd in front of him until he spots a head of short, vibrant blue hair. His eyes narrow. "There's just something about Kaiko I really effing don't like." Gakupo sighs and sits back in his seat.

"Then why don't you just leave her alone?"

"Because," Meito says after a small pause. "I can't get her out of my head."

"Okay, everyone," Kaiko says loudly from center stage. "We're going to start try-outs! Break a leg to all of you guys!"

She goes off the stage and takes her seat, a few rows back from the front.

"This is going to be fun," Meiko whispers to her, a grin spreading across her face. Kaiko smiles back.

"Damn right."

The first few auditions go by, none of them really grabbing Kaiko's attention or, if they do, it's not in a good way. When a girl who has just finished a rather high pitched version of Celine Dion's "My Heart Will Go On" walks off the stage, Kaiko sighs.

"This is not going well," she mutters to Meiko.

"You're only a couple people in; there are still plenty of people to pick from." Meiko pats Kaiko's shoulder comfortingly. Kaiko sighs again.

"Yeah, you're right." She shakes her head slightly, and looks back up at the stage with a smile. "Okay, next up, please!"

The next one to walk onto the stage is none other than a blonde haired girl with a bouncy walk. Rin grins down at Kaiko, who gives a happy grin back. Rin shifts her postion and faces the rest of the crowd with a small, professional looking smile.

"I'm Rin Kagamine, and I'll be singing 'Darling' by Avril Lavigne."

Kaiko gestures for her to start, and Rin grins and takes a breath.

_Darling_

_You're hiding in the closet once again,_

_Start smiling_

_I know you're trying_

_Real hard not to turn your head away_

_Pretty darling_

_Face tomorrow, tomorrow is not yesterday_

_Yesterday oh…_

Pretty please

_I know it's a drag_

_Wipe your eyes and put up your head_

_I wish you could be happy instead_

_There's nothing else I can do_

_But love you the best that I can_

_Yeah yeah yeah yeah_

Rin finishes and gives a confident but friendly smirk to Kaiko. Kaiko grins back and claps happily.

"Booo, you suck," a voice calls from the back. Kaiko can tell from voice that it's Len, but she still turns around to glare at him. She turns back to Rin, still angry.

Rin smiles sweetly up at her brother and flips him off from the stage.

"Love you too," Len calls down. Kaiko giggles and smiles at Rin.

"Thank you, Rin! Okay, next up!" Rin walks off the stage and takes a seat next to Kaiko. A boy walks on the stage and starts a nice cover of "Your Guardian Angel" by Red Jumpsuit Apparatus, though it's slightly off key. While he's singing, Len walks down the aisle and sit in the seat behind Rin and Kaiko.

"Hey, nice job up there," he congratulates his sister, leaning forward. She smiles at him.

"Thanks, bro." He smirks and ruffles her hair, and she sticks her tongue out at him in return. Kaiko smiles at the two close siblings and turns back toward the stage.

'_I wonder how Kaito's handling me making this club. He hasn't said much about it in a while.'_

She feels a tap on her shoulder, bringing her out of her thoughts. She turns to see Len looking at her. She looks at him quizzically.

"Hey, sorry about the last time we met," he says with an apologetic smile. "I was kind of an ass." Kaiko's eyebrows go up in surprise.

"No you weren't, you were actually really nice!" Len shakes his head.

"No I wasn't. Meiko said she told you about how I took your list and you got kind of upset. I was being a bit of a douche, and I wanted to apologize. I kind of do whatever Meito tells me to." Kaiko's jaw clenches at the sound of the brunette's name. With his name hanging in the air, she can swear she feels eye eyes boring into the back of her head. She tries to force a friendly smile onto her face.

"Its fine, I'm not mad anymore," she says through gritted teeth.

"Uh, from the look on your face I'd say you are…" Len says cautiously. "Really, I'm sorry, Kaiko." He gives her a sad, apologetic look that's begging her to forgive him. She stares at him and sighs.

"I'm not mad at _you_ anymore, at least, so don't worry." She sees Len's face light up happily. "_BUT_, just a 'sorry' wouldn't make me feel better if I was."

"Don't worry, I'll make it up to you anyway I can," he says with a child-like grin. He gets up and starts to walk back to his original seat, patting Rin's head as her leaves. Kaiko smiles after him, happy to know he really is a nice guy. Rin turns toward Kaiko.

"You know, him saying that pretty much means he'll do anything, probably even be your love slave, if you want him to be."

"…Wait, _WHAT?!_"

"Hey look, it's Miku's turn!"

Rin turns toward the stage happily, not making any further comment on her statement and ignoring the confused and horrified Kaiko. Kaiko gives up trying to get the blonde's attention and turns toward the stage. She sees the teal-hair girl practically skip onto the stage and flash a cute smile at the crowd. She looks down and grins at Kaiko happily.

"Hi! I'm Miku Hatsune and I'll be singing 'Willow' by Jasmine Thompson!"

She closes her eyes and taps her foot slightly, setting the beat of the song in her mind. Then, her eyes open and she smiles softly at the crowd.

_Down by the water, under the willow _

_Sits a lone ranger, minding the willow _

_He and his wife, once lived happily _

_Planted a seed, that grew through the reeds _

_Summers and winters, through snowy Decembers _

_Sat by the water close to the embers _

_Missing out the lives that they once had before  
_

_I wouldn't leave you _

_I would hold you _

_When the last day comes _

_What if you need me _

_Won't you hold me _

_On the last day, our last day_

She finishes and gives a small curtsy to the crowd. Kaiko and everyone else in the auditorium clap as she walks off the stage. She takes the seat next to Rin and leans over to talk to Kaiko.

"Did I make the cut?" she asks curiously. Kaiko smiles.

"As of right now, hell yeah you did." Miku smiles and giggles happily.

"I really don't understand why my brother didn't let you guys into our club," Meiko says crossing her arms. "I need to ask him about that. If he gives me some stupid reason, I swear I'll kill him." Her eyes narrow and the other three girls laugh.

"So, who's up next?" Rin asks, peering over Kaiko's shoulder to see the auditions list. Kaiko looks over it, trying to find the next name.

"Uh, it looks like it's, um…" Someone on the stage clears their throat and the girls look up. On the stage is a girl with short green hair with two strands longer in the front. She smiles kindly.

"Oh! It's Gumi!" Miku says enthusiastically. "Kaiko, that's my friend Gumi!" Gumi smiles at Miku, who's waving at her from the seats.

"I'm glad she came!" Rin says in happy surprise. Miku nods and turns toward Kaiko.

"Kaiko, you're going to like Gumi! She's really mature and quiet and polite and has a beautiful voice. She's probably going to sing something sweet and beautiful, like a soft aria from an opera or something!" Miku bounces in her seat, waiting to watch Gumi. Gumi steps forward and smiles at the crowd.

"Hey, I'm Gumi," she says calmly. "And I'll be singing Misery Business by Paramore."

Miku blinks in surprise.

"Well, pop-punk is close enough to an aria," Rin says.

Gumi takes a short breath, and looks back at the crowd, her gaze slightly sharper than it was a few moments ago.

_I'm in the business of misery,_

_Let's take it from the top._

_She's got a body like an hour glass, it's ticking like a clock._

_It's a matter of time before we all run out,_

_When I thought he was mine she caught him by the mouth.  
_

_I waited eight long months,_

_She finally set him free._

_I told him I couldn't lie he was the only one for me._

_Two weeks we caught on fire,_

_She's got it out for me_

_But I wear the biggest smile.  
_

_Whoa, I never meant to brag._

_But I got him where I want him now._

_Whoa, it was never my intention to brag_

_To steal it all away from you now._

_But God does it feel so good,_

_'Cause I got him where I want him now._

_And if you could then you know you would_

_'Cause God it just feels so..._

_It just feels so good._

Gumi lets her voice trail off, making her face blank. After a minute, she composes herself and looks back out at the crowd. Everyone claps for her, except Miku who's staring at her friend in amazement. She jumps up and runs over to her friend, who was walking off the stage. From far away, the other three girls could see Miku talking in her usual fast, excited way to Gumi, who's just smiling at the teal haired girl. Miku grabs her arm and drags her over to the rest of the girls

"I told you she was awesome, Kaiko!" Miku shouts when she's back in earshot.

"Damn, Gumi, I never saw you as a punk-pop type of person," Rin says, raising her eyebrows. Gumi smiles sheepishly.

"Well, classical got boring after eleven years of being forced to listen and learn how to play it."

"You play classical stuff?" Kaiko asks, impressed. Gumi nods.

"A little, yeah."

"A little?!" Rin exclaims. "You're a freakin' music prodigy! You got piano, violin, harp, guitar, _and_ vocals under your belt!" She slaps Gumi on the back, making her stumble forward slightly. Gumi gives her an annoyed look and straightens back up.

"More like a tortured child than a prodigy. I was, and still am, literally _forced_ to take lessons. I really only enjoy piano and singing." She crosses her arms and sighs. "My parents say if I want a career in music after I finish school, it has to be orchestral. No punk, pop, rock, alternative, or anything fun no matter what."

"That's pretty controlling," Meiko says with a slightly appalled expression. Gumi shrugs.

"Yeah, well. They're my parents, so I can't really go against them. That's why I'm waiting until I'm legally an adult, then I can move out and do whatever the hell I want."

"Why wait 'till then?" Kaiko asks with a small smirk. Gumi raises her eyebrow.

"I'm listening."

"Well, this club kind of has a couple rebels in it already, so I think you'd fit in pretty well. And, if all goes as I want it too, we'll get noticed by different colleges and judges for our performances. We sure as hell aren't singing any classical stuff, so be however you want musically. Your parents can't really get mad if it gets you into a college, right?" Gumi smirks confidently.

"I like the way you think, Kaiko."

Meanwhile, in the back rows of the auditorium, Meito and his friends are lounging around, chattering away.

"That green-haired girl was pretty good," a boy with silver-white hair says, the slightest bit of respect showing through his emotionless voice. A boy with light pink hair gives a minuscule nod.

"She hit a few notes wrong, though."

"So what do you think about our potential new competition, Meito?" Len leans over the back of a chair, laying his elbows on the top of it. He gives a curious look to Meito, who just shrugs.

"Three girls really aren't what I would consider competition."

"Still," Gakupo interjects. "They have a lot of talent and the potential to become as good, if not better, than us. We shouldn't underestimate them." Meito scoffs quietly.

"This is boring," the silver haired boy says with a sigh. "I'm leaving. Yuuma?"

He glances over his shoulder to the pink haired boy, who stands and follows him out of the auditorium. Len sighs.

"Those two never leave each other's side. And they wonder why people think they're gay."

"For all we know, they might be," Meito says matter-of-factly, stretching. He glances back down at Kaiko again, who's laughing with Meiko, Rin, Miku, and the green haired girl. He can't help but stare at Kaiko and, for whatever reason, he can't look away from her.

'_What the hell is it about this girl that pisses me off so much? I can't get her out of my head.'_

"Looks like the next person's up," Gakupo says, snapping Meito out of his thoughts. He looks down at the stage and sees a tall girl with long blonde hair step up. He shifts so he can see the stage but stay in a comfortable position.

"Should've followed Piko and Yuuma," he mutters under his breath.

Down at the stage, Kaiko smiles up at the girl who helped her earlier in the day. She glances down at Kaiko with a blank expression, then sighs and faces the crowd.

"I'm Lily, and I'm singing 'Take a Hint' from Victorious."

_Why am I always hit on by the boys I never like_

_I can always see 'em coming, from the left or from the right_

_I don't want to be a priss, I'm just try'na be polite_

_But it always seems to bite me in the...  
_

_Ask me for my number, yeah, you put me on the spot_

_You think that we should hook up, but I think that we should not_

_You had me at "Hello", then you opened up your mouth_

_And that is when it started going south_

_Get your hands off my hips, 'fore I'll punch you in the lips_

_Stop your staring at my... Hey!_

_Take a hint, take a hint_

_No you can't buy me a drink, let me tell you what I think_

_I think you could use a mint_

_Take a hint, take a hint_

_T-take a hint, take a hint _

Lily finishes and throws a murderous look at someone in the crowd. Kaiko turns to see a boy shift uncomfortably and sink down in his seat. Glancing back at the stage, she sees Lily walk off without a further word, and go back to her seat.

"Well, she's…blatant," Gumi says hesitantly.

"I like her. She seems like she doesn't put up with any shit. I respect that." Rin nods slightly to her own comment.

"She seems mean…" Miku says worriedly.

"I don't think she actually is, though," Kaiko says slowly, contemplating Lily's personality. "I think that's just how she comes off, but she's actually just bad at expressing how she's feeling."

"Unless she's pissed at some clingy dude," Gumi adds.

"Well, yeah. But overall, I think she's a good person."

"I don't know…" Miku says hesitantly. "She just doesn't seem like someone I'd want to associate with a lot."

"Oh, come on, Miku! Don't be so quick to judge. It's not like you." Miku looks up at Rin, sighs, and shakes her head slightly.

"Yeah, you're right. I'm being a little too judgmental," she says with a strained smile. Rin gives her a look.

"So, do you know who's going next?" Gumi asks, moving next to Kaiko. Kaiko flips through her list of names.

"Uh, it looks like a bunch of third-years. I don't know any of them." She keeps flipping through the pages of the list, her brow furrowing slightly. Meiko raises an eyebrow and peeks over Kaiko's shoulder at the papers.

"What's up? Whatcha looking for?" Kaiko sighs.

"Nothing. Hey, Miku?"

"Yeah?"

"When you were taking down people's names, did you ever see a girl named Luka Megurine? Tall, pink hair, relatively emotionless, sound familiar?"

Rin's jaw drops slightly, and Miku gives Kaiko an unbelieving look.

"…What?"

"Luka Megurine?" Rin asks, appalled. "You invited that _ice queen_ into this club? No way in hell either of us saw her earlier. She literally hates _everyone_ in this school. There's no damn way she would join a club."

"Why not?" Kaiko pouts. "Clubs are fun. Who wouldn't want to join one?"

"Uh, her. I don't think you get what we're saying here, Kaiko," Miku says, as if she was talking to a small child.

"What's there to get?" Kaiko snaps, her impatience growing.

"Look, Kaiko," Gumi says with a sigh, turning to face the girl. "Luka has never been in any clubs, sports, after school get-togethers, nothing. Hell, I'm pretty sure she doesn't have any sort of friend at this school. She purposefully pushes every single person away, puts them down, judges them, condescends them, and is just really short tempered all the time."

"Well, then we should find her and make her join the club so she can be more personable and not scary to talk to! None of that is a good enough reason to be so against her joining if she comes!" Kaiko stomps her foot, channeling the rebellious, bratty kid inside her, in hopes it'll help her get her way like it always has.

"Kaiko, I'm pretty sure Luka doesn't even love her own family. She'd be horrible to hang out with."

"What does that have to do with her joining?!"

"Hmm, let's see, she doesn't work well on teams 'cause she thinks she's effigy amazing at everything in the world, and everyone else is inferior to her," Rin sneers.

"She's really mean and bossy and won't listen to anyone else's opinion on anything," Miku adds.

"Plus, she flaunts her beauty around to make everyone else look and feel bad," Gumi adds bitterly. "She can get any guy she wants but rejects every single guy who comes near her, while us quiet girls have to watch the guys drool over her and ignore our existence entirely."

"Yeah!" Miku says, anger showing on her normally cute face, and she leans closer to the rest of the girls. "I heard she's doing some…_'extracurricular activities'_ with a teacher to get better grades."

"W-what?" Kaiko asks, stunned. "I really doubt she-"

"I bet that's what she's been doing throughout all of high school," Rin cuts in, narrowing her eyes. "She's probably not even close to as smart as she plays herself off."

"How deplorable," Gumi mutters. "Trust us, Kaiko, you don't want a bitch like that joining your club. She'll make all of us look bad."

"B-but-" The girls hear a disgusted sigh.

"If this is how people talk about a girl whose shy around others, I don't blame her for hating everyone." Meiko gives the three girls a piercing, accusing look.

"She's not shy; she's a conceited and slutty!" Miku gibes angrily. "If you ever see her on casual dress days, she's always wearing those tight shirts to show off her chest and short skirts or shorts!"

"Really? You know that for a fact? It's not because, oh, I don't know, it's hard for tall, endowed girls to find clothes that fit right at the mall? Because it really effing is. Not all of us are petite and stick thin." Miku blushes angrily at Meiko's words.

"Okay, well maybe that's the case for her clothes, but she's still a conceited jerk and probably is actually doing disgusting stuff with teachers for extra credit!"

"Is she? You've seen first-hand her going into a teacher's house for long periods of time? You've talked to her and she's said horrible things about you right to your face?"

"W-well no, but-"

"Then what fucking right do you or anyone else have to adulterate her reputation with rumors no one can fucking prove?!"

Miku jumps back at Meiko's outburst. Meiko stands up, fury burning in her eyes.

"I _hate_ people who take dumbass rumors and use them to judge a person. You say Luka is judgmental and a bitch? Do you even _hear_ what you're saying about her?! You've never met her, and you call her all these horrible things! Are you too shallow to even see your own hypocrisy?!"

"M-Meiko, calm down," Kaiko whispers hesitantly. Meiko ignores her and continues to rant at the other three girls

"You guys don't understand what it's like to be constantly assailed with rumors and stories about you that are like that! To hear people calling you a slut, a bitch, stupid, fake, anything like that! It dissolves your trust in people, your ability to feel emotional, your ability to _like_ _yourself._ It hurts. Not just mentally or emotionally, either. It _physically hurts._ You stop thinking it matters if you care about how you treat yourself, so you stop caring. Life loses a point." The fury in Meiko's eyes fade, being replaced with a pained glint. "Trust me, I'd know."

"What do you mean you know? That's happened to you?" Kaiko worriedly goes next to her friend, staring up to her eyes. Meiko turns away.

"Never mind," she mumbles through her hand. "It doesn't matter. I don't wanna go into it."

"But-"

"I said it's all good, now let's finish this up." Meiko's voice was emotionless, except for a twinge of impatience. Miku nervously walks up to her.

"Meiko, if I said something that hurt you, and I know I did, I'm sorry…"

"Me, too," Rin says quietly. Meiko looks at the two of them, then at Gumi, whose standing further behind, looking at the ground. She sighs.

"Whatever, no big deal. I'm over it," she says in her normal confident and friendly manner. "Now for real, let's get this done. These people have just been waiting backstage while we bicker about stuff for, like, ten minutes."

She flops back in her seat and looks up at the stage. Kaiko notices her jaw tighten and her eyes glistening, like she was about to cry. Rin and Miku sheepishly shuffle back to their seats and sit, looking deeply ashamed. Kaiko glances at Gumi, who also already sat down. Her face looked mostly blank, but her eyes showed hints of deep regret. Glancing around at her now melancholy friends, Kaiko sighs and takes her seat again as well. She didn't even remember standing up. She glances up at the stage and plasters on a smile.

"Next up, please!"

The last audition finishes their song, taking a small bow and leaving the stage. Kaiko smiles kindly and stands up, heading onto the stage herself.

"Thank you all for auditioning for spots in my club! Like I said before, I'm very sorry if you don't make it in this time around. But there's always a next time, and I'll take any repeat auditions during breaks and after school for the rest of the year! Again, thank you guys for taking the time to-"

Before she can finish her wrap-up, the main auditorium door opens, causing everyone to turn and see who entered. A tall girl with long, pink hair begins to walk down the center aisle. Kaiko's eyes widen with surprise, and she smiles broadly. Luka looks up at her with a guarded expression.

"Is it too late for me to audition?" she asks, her stoic voice echoing quietly through the room. Kaiko grins and starts to walk off the stage.

"I think we have time for one more!" She steps off and motions for Luka to go up and start. Luka begins to walk onstage, and Kaiko sits down excitedly.

'_Holy crap, she actually came! Something's actually working out in my favor!'_ She giggles mentally and waits for Luka to start. Behind her, she hears a boy and girl whispering to each other.

"Hey, that's Luka Megurine, right?" the boy asks.

"Yeah, the bossy chick from a class ahead. Weird how she showed up here for this, huh?"

"A little. Maybe she was bored. She probably just finished an _'extra credit'_ project with Mr. Rustenburg in the janitor's closet," the boy says, his smirk audible in his voice. The girl giggles

"Bastards…" Kaiko glances over at Meiko, whose eyes are narrowed dangerously once again. Kaiko shakes her head sadly and glances up at Luka.

"Hi, I'm Luka, and I'm gonna sing 'Spell' by Marie Digby.

"Hey, Meito, that girl tried out for our club, right?" Meito squints, trying to see the girl's face a little more clearly.

"Yeah, I think so. She came up to me like, three times and just had spontaneous tryouts, kinda like what I did with Kaiko. She wasn't all that bad, if I remember right."

"If she wasn't that bad, why didn't you let her in?" Len raises his eyebrow confusedly. Meito shrugs.

"I didn't like her attitude."

"So?" Len asks. "You don't like Piko's attitude, but you let him in."

"Yeah, well, I can't deal with two bad attitudes. I'm pissy enough."

"You got that right," Gakupo says flatly. Meito shoots a glare at him, which Gakupo ignores. Len sighs drearily.

"I wanna go home," he whines. "I wish they'd hurry up so I can get Rin and get outta here."

"Be patient for once, you brat," Meito sighs, leaning back in his chair. Len pouts and mumbles inaudibly under his breath, leaning his forehead against the back of his chair.

"Looks like she's about to start," Gakupo notices. "She's the last one, so we might as well listen to her." He gives a sharp glance to Meito and Len, who take the hint and reluctantly sit up to pay attention.

Luka begins to sing, her voice clearly echoing throughout the room.

_A spotlight's shining brightly_

_On my face_

_And I can't see a thing_

_And yet I feel you, looking my way_

The room freezes. Luka's strong voice travels around the gaping crowd, all whispers ceasing. _  
_

_An empty stage_

_With nothing but this girl_

_Who's singing this simple melody_

_And wearing her heart on her sleeve_

_And right now..._

Gakupo stares down at the girl on the stage, captivated by her voice. She glances over the crowd, her eyes briefly meeting his. His breath catches in his throat. Her gaze lingers on him for a split second, then smoothly moves away._  
_

_I have you_

_For a moment I can tell I've got you_

_Cause your lips don't move_

_And something is happening_

_Cause your eyes tell me the truth_

_I've put a spell over you..._

Luka let's her voice fade, and walks off the stage. Without a word, she walks passed Kaiko and out the side door of the auditorium. Rin, Miku, and Gumi star after her, stunned.

"Holy crap, she's amazing," Rin utters. Miku slowly nods, her mouth hanging open.

"I'd say you want her in you club," Meiko says with a smirk. Kaiko faces her with a wide grin.

"I think I might, yeah." Kaiko stands up and walks back onto the stage. After finishing what she was saying before Luka showed up, she waves to the crowd who begins to filter out of the auditorium. She hops back down and walks back over to her friends.

"Well, now we just have to wait for you to pick a couple people, right?" Miku stands and stretches, looking over at Kaiko.

"Yep! I'll get it done tonight so people don't have to wait."

" Sick," Rin says, resting her elbow on Kaiko's shoulder.

"Hey, Rin!" The girls look up to see the three glee boys walking toward them, Len in the front.

"What's up, Len?"

"I wanna go home. Hurry up." Rin makes a face at her brother.

"You can wait a little longer."

"I've been waiting for an hour now," he says, irked. "I want to leave." Rin sighs angrily.

"Fine. See ya later, guys!" She and her brother walk away from the group, quietly bickering with each other.

"I should probably go, too," Gumi says. "Miku, you're coming over today, right?"

"Oh, yeah! Bye, Kaiko!" She and Gumi follow the twins out of the auditorium.

"So," Meiko says, facing her brother. "You've seen the competition and annoyed Kaiko with your presence, are you satisfied with your life?"

"Nah," he says flatly.

"Of course you aren't," Meiko grumbles. Meito shrugs, a smirk playing on the corners of his mouth.

Kaiko glances over at Gakupo, wondering why he hasn't said anything. He's staring off at the side door of the auditorium, seemingly not realizing Kaiko was even looking at him.

'_Isn't that the door Luka left out of?'_ Kaiko opens her mouth to talk to Gakupo, to bring him out of his daze.

"What's up with him?" Meiko asks, gesturing toward Gakupo. Kaiko freezes and looks back to Meiko. Meito sighs.

"I don't effin' know. He's been like that since that last girl sung. I can't get him back out of his little dream world. Watch." He turns toward Gakupo and tugs on his ponytail. "Yo, Gaku, the lead singer of Green Day just walked in and says he wants to meet you and have you sing at one of their concerts."

Gakupo swats Meito's hand away from his hair, but otherwise barely registers that he said anything. Meito turns back and raises an eyebrow at the girls.

"See what I mean?"

"Damn, he really is out of it. That should've made him fanboy like crazy, even though it was really stupid."

"He likes Green Day?" Kaiko asks.

"More like is unhealthily obsessed with them," Meito says, flicking the back of his friend's head. Gakupo doesn't even flinch.

"Okay, this is ridiculous," Meiko huffs. She walks over to Gakupo and stands in front of him. With a lightning-fast movement, she brings her fist full-force toward his jaw.

"Gah- Meiko, don't!" Kaiko shouts, reaching out to stop her friend. However, she stops and stares in confused awe at the scene in front of her. Before Meiko's fist could collide with Gakupo's face, his hand flies up and blocks her strike. Then, even faster than Meiko's first movement, he twists her arm around and forces her to the ground.

"Owowowowow okay, I get it, you have fighter instincts, now please let me go!" Meiko winces and struggles to get of Gakupo's grip. Gakupo's face softens when he finally recognizes Meiko. He quickly let's go of her.

"Oh, shit, I'm sorry Meiko! I was kinda out of it, I didn't realize-"

"You were more that 'kinda out of it, man," Meito says, helping his sister up. Gakupo scratches the back of his head sheepishly.

"Sorry…"

"So, what had you so distracted?" Kaiko asks, raising an eyebrow curiously. Gakupo glances at her, a dust of pink on his cheeks.

"Uh, nothing, just that last girl had a really pretty voice and I…I guess I got a little distracted by it." Meiko raises and eyebrow, then a mischievous smile slowly creeps onto her face.

"You like her, don't you?" she creepily says, getting up in Gakupo's face. He scowls.

"Back off or I'll actually break your arm this time." Meiko quickly moves back over to Kaiko, but is still smiling creepily. Gakupo inhales deeply to calm himself down. "Anyway, I'm late for kendo, so I'll see you guys later."

He turns and walks away. Kaiko couldn't help but notice how graceful his gait was, almost like how you'd think a prince would walk. Regal did seem like a word to describe him, with the way he carried himself. He's intelligent, strong, musically talented, and very handsome. But even so, he was kind and didn't look down on anyone or anything. He's the definition of a perfect guy. She smiles to herself.

'_I wish there were more guys like him in this school,'_ she wishes mentally.

"So, Kaiko," Meiko says, bringing Kaiko out of her thoughts. "Do you have any plans for tomorrow night?"

"Um, not that I know of, why?" Kaiko looks up at her friend inquisitively.

"Meito and I are having a party and I wanted to know if you and your brother wanted to come!" Meiko says with a grin. Kaiko hears a quiet groan from Meito.

"Yeah, sure!" she agrees, more to annoy Meito than anything. "I'll ask my brother when I get home. Oh, speaking of which, what time is it?"

"Around 6:15," Meito says, glancing at his watch.

"Oh, crap! I said I was going to be home by 5:45!" Kaiko flails around, trying to gather her things and begins to head out the door.

"Do you want us to give you a ride?" Meiko shouts after her.

"No, it's fine! I'm good! Bye!" Kaiko's voice grows fainter as she runs out the door, leaving the brunette siblings in the auditorium. Meito turns toward his sister.

"Why'd you invite her and her idiot brother?" he says, a childish whine creeping through his voice.

"Oh, shut up you big baby. You're probably going to be so drunk you won't even notice they're there," Meiko state flatly and begins to walk out of the room. Meito pouts, following his sister.

Kaiko walks out of the school, checking her bag to make sure she has everything. Once she's sure she has all she needs, she puts her bag over her shoulder and begins to jog to her house.

'_I wonder if Kaito will want to go to that party tomorrow,' _she wonders, turning onto her street. _'I know he likes Meiko, but I don't know how he feels about Meito.'_

She walks up to her house and unlocks the door, stepping in. Her mom greets her happily like usual. After giving her mom a hug, she goes up to her room and dumps her stuff on the floor, flopping down onto her bed.

'_Hell, do _I_ even want to go to the party? I mean, I don't want to deal with Meito really, but Meiko invited me, and I need to get out a little more. It wouldn't hurt to socialize. Besides, Kaito most likely will be there if I tell him I'm going, so if I really don't want to talk to anyone, there's always him. But then again, Meito's going to be there, and he's just…not getting along well with my temper. Still, it's not like I really hate him.' _She flips over onto her side. Absentmindedly, she starts plucking at a tear in her comforter and sighs.

"Well, I guess I'm going to experience what a real high school party is like tomorrow," she says matter-of-factly.

She picks up a blue stuffed bear and ties a little bow around its neck. Looking at her creation, she scowls and tosses it at the far wall. She drapes her arm over her eyes.

"Damn, I feel like I'm living in some sort of TV high school drama."


End file.
